Author: Tambiyan Samvel

CE ATTACHES GREAT IMPORTANCE TO MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN – SR OF CE SEC-GEN
Author: A.Ismayilova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2006

Trend’s exclusive interview with special representative of the Council
of Europe Secretary General to Azerbaijan, Mr Denis Bribosia.

Question: Will the Council of Europe openly observe the municipal
elections to be held in Azerbaijan on 6 October 2006?

Answer: The Council of Europe attaches great importance to these
elections with the hope that the municipal elections will run smoothly
and in line with the necessary standards. The CE will be in observance
during the polls. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will
dispatch a monitoring delegation which will stay in Azerbaijan from
3 – 8 October.

As a rule, such processes require considerable funds and therefore,
the composition of the delegation will not be large. Nevertheless,
work carried out during the elections will be of a high standard. The
monitoring will be held in the capital and regions of Azerbaijan.

Question: How do you estimate the resolution of part of the opposition
on boycotting the elections?

Answer: When the opposition boycotts the elections, the democracy
system fails. I’m not in a position to blame either side. Perhaps, the
opposition has reason to boycott the elections. I cannot condemn it.

As to demand from the opposition to make changes to the Elections Code,
this is a requirement that the CE would like to witness. The CE has
been informed that the changes will definitely occur and we hope this
to be the case. In this respect the CE and the Venice Commission have
agreed to work towards this goal.

Question: How do you estimate the fulfillment of the CE obligations
by Azerbaijan?

Answer: This is a large-scale issue. Several bodies of the CE are
observing the issue. Their reports are periodically submitted to the
public for consideration. Summing up the reports, I can say that there
are serious wishes by the parliamentarians as well as the Committee
of Ministers for changes to be carried out. They want to be confident
that this is not just a short burst of democracy, but a serious and
stable progression.

Question: What are your opinions on the state of media in Azerbaijan

Answer: We believe that freedom of expression is one of the major
attributes of democracy. Of course, we would not like to hear of
reports of journalists being persecuted. The journalists should fulfill
their duties and avoid becoming involved with the authorities. I call
on all to realize that the European Court also encourages freedom of
expression. People should express their opinions and be able to ask
questions. At the same time they should always take into consideration
that the there are boundaries which should not be overstepped. The
European Court on Human Rights has outlined these boundaries.

Undoubtedly, the journalists should not damage the honor and dignity
of people in the press. Journalists are not allowed to act in this
manner. Here I’d like to add that the use of criminal policy in these
issues is not allowed. The possibility of persecution and arrest
of journalists makes them extremely careful which in turn affects
their activities.

Question: Do the senior ranking officials of the CE plan to visit
Azerbaijan?

Answer: The Chairman of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh,
Lord Rassel Johnston will visit Azerbaijan, exactly when has not been
confirmed. The Parliamentary Assembly assures us that the Committee
led by Johnson is capable of influencing the process of talks on
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and therefore, the visit is imminent.

Next year PACE plans to conduct a conference with the participation
of parliamentary delegates from Azerbaijan and Armenia to discuss the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem. At present we are unable to advise you on
the venue of the conference, which is to be organized by the Ad Hoc
Committee. Rassel will visit Azerbaijan prior to this forum.

Question: Does the CE plan to participate in the processes linked
with the fire in the occupied territory of Azerbaijan?

Answer: It would be more expedient to simplify many issues
father complicate. At present there is no necessity to include
all organizations in the issue. It might be received with some
resistance. Therefore, the OSCE is responsible for processing the
issue. There is no reason for the CE to interfere with the process.

However, the Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh will hold a meeting
during the PACE session in October, but as far as I know, some MPs
are going to put forward the issue.

Question: What big events does the CE plan to conduct in the near
future?

Answer: A number of events are on schedule. School of political
sciences will be set up soon. Its opening is scheduled for 6 November
2006. It is an important tool which will help to teach young and
promising leaders in Azerbaijan about democracy and politics. Similar
schools function this way in many countries. Now we are working on the
establishment of the Association of Municipal Bodies in Azerbaijan. By
the end of the year crucial meetings are planned in connection with
the education of judges in the penitentiary system.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LEFT FOR PARIS TO MEET OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS

Arminfo
11 Sep 06

Yerevan, 11 September: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
today left for Paris to attend a meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,
Vladimir Karapetyan, acting press secretary of the Armenian Foreign
Ministry, has told an Arminfo correspondent.

"The time is being clarified. It is possible that the meeting will
start today," Vladimir Karapetyan noted.

To recap, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Maammadyarov’s meeting
with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs is planned for 13 September
in London.

Matthew Bryza (USA), Yuriy Merzlyakov (Russian Federation) and Bernard
Fassier (France) are the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

RADIO STATION ABRUPTLY PULLS THE PLUG
By Richard C. Dujardin
Journal Religion Writer

Providence Journal, RI
Sept 8 2006

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

After providing generations of listeners with a strong mix of religious
and ethnic programming, radio station WRIB AM 1220 did something
quite unexpected two months ago by suddenly going off the air.

The decision to "pull the plug" on a station that had been home to
such shows as the Rev. John Randall’s Sprit and Word, the Armenian
Radio Hour and the Voice of Italy was made by its new owner, the
Faith Christian Center.

The Rev. David Marquard, whose church draws 900 people a week to
its Pentecostalist services on Sagamore Road in Seekonk, says that
when the church bought the station with offices and transmitters on
the East Providence waterfront in July for $1.9 million, it was for
the purpose of bringing the light of the Gospel to as many people as
possible and to "enhance life from a godly perspective."

That’s still the goal, but church leaders acknowledge that getting
the new programming on line has taken longer than expected. They say
it is more likely the station won’t be on the air again at least for
several more weeks.

Critics, including some of former program hosts, say by shutting down
the signal without notice the new owners broke a promise given to the
former station manager, John Pearce, that everyone was going to have
at least 30 days to bid farewell.

Instead, they say, the end came without warning and those with
belongings at the site were given only a few hours to remove their
possessions.

FATHER RANDALL said he only found out about the move when someone
asked him why his show wasn’t on the air.

"There were a lot of angry people," says the retired priest, whose
ministry at St. Patrick Church in Providence and then at St. Charles
Borromeo Church in Providence helped to fuel the Catholic charismatic
renewal movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

But the 77-year-old priest refused to join other critics, who in
e-mails and blogs, have been quick to denounce the Faith Christian
Center for doing a "dirty thing."

He says that, as a large church, Faith Christian was probably looking
for a way to get out its message and owning a radio station appeared to
be one way of doing that. He said it’s unlikely that the new owners
would want to continue a Catholic program on what will be a basic
evangelical station, and he has no problem with that.

"I’m sure if the shoe were on the other foot and Mother Angelica (the
Catholic nun who runs the Eternal Word Televsion Network) bought the
station, she would only want Catholic programs," he said.

Typically, the programs pay the station to put their shows on the
air. The old WRIB charged roughly $151 per show per week. Pastor
Marquard said one can assume that the station will want programs
that fit its evengelical pentecostalist perspective, but shows will
be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Father Randall says he wrote the pastor a letter, saying he has asked
his supporters to pray for the station and the minister. "I wrote,
‘As long as you proclaim Christ, we’ll be happy with it.’"

BUT SOME of the other show hosts are not so happy, and don’t accept
the Pastor Marquard’s explanation that the move was on the advice of
the church’s lawyers who said the church might be opening itself to
possible "harm" if it let the shows continue.

"It was an unfortunate, difficult decision," says the pastor. "Our goal
was not to shortchange people or deny them an opportunity to speak to
their listeners. The only reason we went dark was our attorney told us
that, because we owned the station, we could liable for anything said
over the air. We didn’t want anything to be said that intentionally
harmed us."

"Frankly we diligently try to be a blessing to the community as much
as we can. Our goal is to be a blessing. If we hurt people it was
never our intention."

The pastor said he appreciated the note from Father Randall. "I’m a
former Catholic and I used to listen to his Spirit and Word. He was
an influence on my life. He is a very gracious man."

Russell Gasparian, who began airing the Armenian Hour nearly 60 years
ago, back in the days when WRIB was based in Providence’s Narragansett
Hotel, said he was very upset with the church for not giving him a
chance to tell his listeners goodbye.

"It’s a dirty trick that they used," said the Gasparian, 87. "It’s
the worst thing they could have done."

The Armenians, he said, a close knit community in Rhode Island,
relied on his show to tell them what was going on.

It was much the same with Radio Italia, Rhode Island’s Voice of Italy,
hosted by MariaGina Aiello.

But according to the hosts, the future is not totally bleak. The two
have found a new home on radio station WARL AM 1320, airing Sundays.

Gasparian observed that since the show began airing on the new station
he has gotten calls from people in New England states that apparently
hadn’t heard the program before. And his son, a webmaster, has for the
last couple years put the shows on the Internet, reaching listeners
as far away as Russia and Belgium.

Silvio Cuellar produces a fast-paced Hispanic program, Pueblo Que
Camina, sponsored by the Diocese of Providence’s Office of Hispanic
Ministry. It was, he says, the area’s first Hispanic Catholic program,
offering Bible reflection, interviews and local and national television
news.

HE SAID that when he found that Saturday in July that the show wasn’t
on the air, he was upset and disappointed. "I thought it was a very
unchristian and cruel thing to do."

But after being off the air for three weeks, he says, he’s found a
new home on WELH 88.1 FM airing 8 a.m. Saturday mornings.

Of all the former host/producers, the biggest provider of religious
programming on WRIB was John Primeau, whose Johnston-based North
American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation provides
programming on 200 channels in 25 states. Primeau said he was paying
the station $15,000 annually to run 10 half-hour programs on WRIB each
week – a wide assortment featuring Catholic priests and lay women
on topics ranging from the role of women in the church today, the
theology and traditions of Roman Catholicism, and priestly vocations.

When he heard the station had been sold he sent letter both to the
church and the former owner, Carter Broadcasting in Boston, warning
that he would consider any interruption of service to be a breach of
his contract. Primeau, who has successfully sued other communications
giants such as Sprint, promptly followed up with a suit seeking
unspecified damages.

He says that even though the shows can no longer be heard over WRIB,
most were audio broadcasts of televised programs produced in his
studios and which air regularly on the state cable TV interconnect
as well as over the Internet. Even so, he contends that WRIB’s
interruption of service diminished his listening audience and he
wants to be "made whole" by having the programs returned to the air,
along with advertising from the church.

Primeau said that while most Catholic parishes would not be able to
afford buying a station, very successful Pentecostal churches can
pull it off because they garner more cash from members’ tithing and
many Pentecostal pastors started out as entrepreneurs.

Faith Christian’s Pastor Marquard said the church did have to borrow to
buy the station. Once it begins to air, perhaps with new call letters,
it will feature a "variety" of programming, with a drive-time format
that includes news, weather, traffic and music.

"Probably from 8 a.m. to noon we will have paid programming, Gospel
ministers and so on, almost all of whom would not be local; and a
host from Focus on the Family from 8 p.m. to midnight.

He said he expects to have his own 15-minute program each weekday,
airing sometime between 8 and 9 a.m.

"" But some of the other show hosts are not so happy, and don’t
accept Pastor Marquard’s explanation that the move was on the advice
of the church’s lawyers who said the church might be opening itself
to possible ‘harm’ if it let the shows continue.""

IRANIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER HADDAD ADEL TO LEAVE FOR ARMENIA

Fars News Agency, Iran
Sept 10 2006

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali
Haddad Adel, heading a delegation, is due to leave Tehran for Armenia
on Monday.

During his three-day visit which takes place at the invitation of
the Armenian Parliament Speaker, Haddad Adel is scheduled to hold
meetings with different high-ranking officials, including his Armenian
counterpart, President and Prime Minister.

The top legislative official is also due to pay a visit to the
Iranology department of Yerevan University, where he is also to make
a speech.

Visits to other cultural and religious centers, including Kaboud
Mosque and central library of Yerevan where manuscripts in different
languages are kept and is considered as the cultural center of Armenia
are among other programs.

The Iranian Parliament Speaker is due to leave Armenia for Kyrgyzstan
on Tuesday, where he is also scheduled to attend meetings with
different senior officials.

The chief lawmaker is accompanied by a number of MPs, including
representatives of the Iranian Armenians at the Islamic Consultative
Assembly.

Once through with his visits to these northern neighboring states,
Haddad Adel will return home on Thursday.

RA PRESIDENT EXPRESSES SATISFACTION ON OCCASION OF ACTIVIZATION OF
COOPERATION WITH EOC

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Receiving On September 7 The Delegation
Headed By European Olympic Committee (EOC) Chairman Patrick Hickey, RA
President Robert Kocharian Considered Gratifying Activization Of The Cooperation
with this sporting structure. He mentioned that joint programs will be an
additional stimulus in the affair making sports mass in Armenia and reaching good
results in international tournaments. P.Hickey mentioned in his turn that in a
number of kinds of sports like weight-lifting, multiathlon, etc., Armenia is
traditionally considered strong, and that during the recent years, a
considerable improvement has been noticed in the process of pushing forward the
Armenian sport. He also stated that he was impressed with the RA President’s
readiness to pay great attention to sports.

AZG Armenian Daily #172, 09/09/2006

Exhibition

ARMENIAN GOODS TO BE EXHIBITED IN CANADA

On September 10-11, first time ever Armenian goods
will be presented at the Ethic Food-2006 exhibition in
Toronto. The Armenian pavilion will display more than
50 trademarks including canned food, juices, wines,
teas etc. The pavilion opened by the efforts of the
Artizan Food Incorporation and the center for
Development of Agrobusiness has an aim to help in
presenting the Armenian goods to Canadian market.
Artizan Food Incorporation informs that the Armenian
trademarks will be presented to 22 thousand potential
buyers.

By Ara Martirosian

Azerbaijan, Ukraine to set up Council of presidents of two states
by: Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 7, 2006 Thursday 04:01 PM EST

BAKU, September 7 — Azerbaijan and Ukraine decided to create a council
of presidents for resolving important issues in the interaction of
the two countries.

"In the near future, the Council of Presidents will work out
a strategic plan, which will include the most crucial issues of
bilateral cooperation," Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told
a news conference in Baku on Thursday.

After the top level talks, the presidents of Ukraine and Azerbaijan,
Viktor Yushchenko and Ilham Aliyev, signed a joint declaration,
which contained the decision on the Council of Presidents.

The declaration expressed "the high level of bilateral relations
and intention of the two countries to strengthen their cooperation
further," Aliyev said.

On the whole, a package of seven documents was signed after the
Azerbaijani-Ukrainian talks. Among them are intergovernmental
agreements on cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection
and in joint international cargo haulage.

The sides also signed an agreement on long-term cooperation between
the Azerbaijani state-owned oil company and Ukrainian national joint
venture "Naftogaz Ukrainy", as well as agreements on interaction in
the spheres of plants’ protection, radiation safety, and training
of diplomats.

During the talks, the sides discussed cooperation in defense
technologies, interaction within the framework of GUAM (the regional
organization that unites Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova),
and ways for settling the protracted conflict in the much-troubled
Armenian-populated region of Karabakh.

According to Yushchenko, Ukraine is ready to assist the peacemaking
process.

On Friday, the Ukrainian president plans to visit Sangachal oil
terminal, located 40 kilometres southward off Baku. Oil from the
Azerbaijani Caspian deposits is pumped to the terminal, from where it
is transported to international markets via the territories of Russia,
Georgia and Turkey.

OPPOSITION STRUGGLES FOR AMERICAN MONEY

Lragir.am
08 Sept 06

A real race has started in the opposition of Armenia for the 6.5
million dollars of the U.S. Department of State they are likely to
provide for holding a fair parliamentary election in Armenia in 2007.

After Arshak Sadoyan the leader of the National Democratic Party
Shavarsh Kocharyan announces about the project on control over
elections. However, if Sadoyan’s project cost 2.5 million U.S.
dollars, on September 8 Kocharyan announced at the Pastark Club that
his model of control costs 4 million U.S. dollars.

It seems, however, that the money is hard to get, since the Americans
are reluctant to fund a project, which does not have the approval of
the entire opposition. Like Sadoyan, Kocharyan also complains that
the other forces of the opposition cannot come together over his
project. Kocharyan believes that the project is not only good and
worth approving but also singular.

"For us it is not important who proposed it is important if it is
pro-active, well-thought. Let them propose something else, we will
consider it, but there is no other proposal. This is the problem.

There are words, calls, but there are no documents, mechanisms,
approaches," says Shavarsh Kocharyan.

NKR PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES "CILICIA" SAILING VESSELS CREW ON OCCASION OF HISTORIC NAVIGATION

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 07 2006

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. NKR President
Arkadi Ghukasian congratulated "Cilicia" Armenian sailing vessel crew
which finished its sailing. The telegram, submitted to Noyan Tapan
by the NKR President’s Acting Press Sectretary, particularly, reads
the following: "I whole-heartedly congratulate you on the occasion
of finishing the realy historic sailing.

You accomplished a real feat in the name of Armenia and Artsakh, in
the name of the Armenian people. Your "Cilicia" sailing vessel which
has become legendary, on the mast of which the flag of the Republic
of Nagorno Karabakh was also waving, overcoming in two years 15
thousand sea miles and stopping in 63 ports of 26 countries of Europe
and Mediterranean Sea basin, became the symbol of kindness and peace
characteristical for our people from old ages. Owing to your patriotic
mission, the Old world got to better know ideas and values professed
by us, history and culture of our world-spread people, and, of course,
the truth about the national-liberating struggle of Artsakh. It is
deeply symbolic that the end of the navigation coincided with the 15th
anniversary of proclaiming the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Even
our ill-wishers had to accept your contribution in the affair of
propaganda of the Armenian people’s interests. Artsakh attentively
looked after your navigation, worried about you and admired your
courage. You personify the Armenian people’s valour and valiance. You
are real heroes.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW UNION CALLS FOR CONFRONTING "CHALLENGES THROWN DOWN TO COUNTRY AND PEOPLE" WITH UNITED FRONT

Noyan Tapan
Sept 07 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, NOYAN TAPAN. The Presidium of the Constitutional
Law Union made a statement in connection with the fact of the September
6 attack upon the editor of the party’s official body, the Iravunk
newspaper, Hovhannes Galajian, characterizing it as "terrorism" and
strictly condemned the position of using violence and falsehood as
the main method of solving issues. "The ruling elite formed on the
basis of the mafia-clan system as a result of periodically falsified
elections, exhausting itself as a body exercising state power, having
a presentiment of its coming agony and completely giving itself to
the mania of its own reproduction, became the main source of danger
for the people. Public murders and violence in the country have
become everyday phenomenon. Not only well-known people, but also
common citizens become victims of violence," the Constitutional
Law Union declared. As the party affirmed, the murder of Shahen
Hovasapian, Chief of the Investigation Department of the State Tax
Service attached to RA government, among them was not the first
and will hardly be the last one, until a legal power is established
in the country." In the party’s opinion, irrespective of the fact,
whether the grave crimes are committed "by state order" or because
of arbitrariness and poisonous atmosphere of protectionism, it’s
the high-ranking officials holding not their place who are to blame
for this." The party expresses deep condolences to all victims of
violence generated by the system. Declaring about their inflexibility
and resolution to complete the victorious act, the Constitutional
Law Union calls on all citizens of the country, all state officials
and politicians having preserved their dignity with a united front
"to confront the challenge thrown down to the people by the criminal
element." To recap, yesterday in the evening editor of the Iravunk
weekly Hovhannes Galajian was beaten when leaving the house, as he
affirmed, by two skin-head youngsters. The editor is sure that the
attack is connected with his professional activity.