Author: Tambiyan Samvel

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
May 7 2004

SALOME ZURABISHVILI: `LOCAL CONFLICTS IN REGION IMPEDE ITS
DEVELOPMENT’
[May 07, 2004, 11:20:23]

As correspondent of AzerTAj reported, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Georgia Salome Zuarabishvili is paying an official visit to Moscow.
On May 6, head of foreign policy department of this country had a
meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Sergey Lavrov during which have been discussed situation in Georgia
after resignation of the head of Ajaria Aslan Abashidze and the
further prospects of development of the Russian – Georgian relations.

On results of negotiations, the head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Russia and Georgia have held press conference on which the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov
has stated that the position of Russia on Abkhazia has not changed
and based on recognition of territorial integrity of Georgia. `Russia
proceeds from the principle of respect of territorial integrity of
Georgia – this position is consecutive and constant’, the head the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has told. He
has emphasized, that Russia is satisfied with the peace settlement of
situation in Ajaria, it always considered this conflict as internal
work of Georgia.

In turn, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili,
answering questions of journalists, has declared that: `Georgia
highly estimates the political support rendered to authorities of
Georgia on the part of Russia, considers, that `arrival of the
Secretary of Security Council of the Russian Federation Igor Ivanov
to Batumi was very important. Russia during last moment has offered
help, and it creates that ground of trust which is necessary for
development of relations in a right way ‘.

The head of foreign policy department of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili
also has declared, that the delayed local conflicts brake development
of the Caucasian states, and these conflicts into which also enters
also Nagorny Karabakh – actually, freeze our development. As she
said, on the solution of similar conflicts depend all the Caucasian
peoples. S. Zurabishvili has emphasized, that the CIS countries take
the important place in the policy of Georgia, and Georgia would
continue further active interaction with the states of Commonwealth.
She has noted also that her country attaches great importance to
cooperation with the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation.

Alongside with it, Salome Zurabishvili has declared, that Georgia
wants to combine partnership with the NATO and cooperation with
Russia.

It is necessary to note that during the meeting of the head of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the head of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation also have been discussed
questions on situation in Abkhazia, about the status and terms of
stay of the Russian military bases on territories of Georgia,
questions of visa regime between the two states, combat against the
international terrorism.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 5, 2004 Wednesday

Azeri presid notes positive changes in OSCE Minsk group work

By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman

BAKU, May 5

Azerbaijani president Ilkham Aliyev has noted positive changes in the
activities of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Nagorno Karabakh.

Aliyev told journalists on Wednesday, “the activity of the Minsk
Group has become noticeable, its co-chairmen are persistently seeking
solution to the problem.”

The Azerbaijani president believes the settlement process is underway
although not very actively.

President Aliyev expressed the hope that the negotiations on the
Karabakh conflict settlement with mediation of the OSCE Group,
co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States, will bring
concrete results.

“If we did not believe in that there would be no sense in conducting
talks,” the head of Azerbaijan stressed.

He positively assessed meetings held between the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents in Geneva in December 2003 and in Warsaw in April
2004, as well as talks held at the level of the two states’ foreign
ministers.

The next meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia
with participation of co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will be held
in Strasbourg on May 12.

On this day ten days ago the two sides reached an agreement on
ceasefire on the Karabakh conflict zone which is still being
observed.

Azeri politician says Ajarian leader’s resignation Georgia’s victory

Turan news agency
6 May 04

BAKU

“This is a great victory of the Georgian people, a great achievement
of Georgian democracy and the triumph of President Mikheil
Saakashvili,” said Azerbaijani political expert Zardust Alizada,
commenting on the latest developments in Ajaria to Turan news
agency. He said that the events showed that Azerbaijan could also
resolve “its problems” if it pursued correct domestic and foreign
policy. In Alizada’s opinion, Saakashvili has public support, he was
elected through democratic polls and is carrying out a real struggle
against corruption, and therefore, he has serious international
support.

There is nothing like that in Azerbaijan. “The president was elected
as a result of falsifications and himself leads the corrupt pyramid,”
Alizada said.

He believes that if Azerbaijan pursues “correct” domestic and foreign
policy, then a senior Russian official will come and take with him
separatists such as [head of the self-styled Nagornyy Karabakh
republic] Arkadiy Gukasyan and [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan.

Political expert Rasim Musabayov also thinks that the latest events in
Ajaria will “positively” impact the situation in the region. Georgia
has recently turned into a synonym of “anarchy”, the central
government did not control many regions. However, the recent events
demonstrated the ability of the democratic government to tackle
problems that were too tough for the old nomenclature lead by
Shevardnadze.

“If President Saakashvili continues to act decisively and carefully,
taking into consideration the position of the world community, Georgia
will find a solution to the Abkhaz and South Ossetia conflicts,”
Musabayov said.

The Georgian authorities have taken a serious step towards setting up
a unitary country and have proven their ability to tackle serious
problems without using force, Musavat Party leader Isa Qambar said,
commenting on the Ajaria events.

He described [Ajarian leader Aslan] Abashidze’s resignation as “a
serious blow to corruption in the South Caucasus”. Qambar expressed
the hope that further processes in Georgia would develop within the
framework of democracy and without violence.

Justice Party Chairman Ilyas Ismayilov expressed “concern” over the
possible impact of the Georgian events on ethnic Azerbaijanis in this
country. He said he hoped that further processes would also be carried
out without bloodshed. He assessed the events in Ajaria as a struggle
against separatism.

Eurasianet Organization
April 28 2004

GEORGIA STRIVES TO BURNISH IMAGE AMID AJARIA CRISIS
Alex van Oss: 4/28/04

Amid a constitutional crisis involving the renegade region of Ajaria,
Georgian leaders have waged a diplomatic offensive to bolster
Georgia’s international image. In the United States, Georgian Prime
Minister Zurab Zhvania has touted his government as “one of the most
competent” in the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, President Mikheil
Saakashvili was promoting trade ties during a tour of Ukraine and
Poland.

Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, Georgia has been riven by civil
strife and economic dysfunction. [For additional information see the
Eurasia Insight archive]. At a public appearance in Washington on
April 26, Zhvania emphasized that with Saakashvili’s reform-minded
administration in place, Georgia should no longer be viewed as a
“failed state.” Since January, Georgia has made great strides in
curbing corruption, long seen as the single most daunting obstacle to
Georgia’s stabilization, Zhvania maintained.

“Formerly untouchable gangsters are now in prison, so people now have
physical security. This is just a beginning,” Zhvania said during the
appearance, sponsored by the Center for International and Strategic
Studies. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. “The
Minister of Finance [Zurab Nogaideli] has put an end to absolute
chaos…and, for the first time in Georgia’s history, is paying
refugees their pensions without a single day of delay – though, of
course, these pensions are still miserably low.”

Progress in the battle against corruption is making Georgia a safer
investment risk, Zhvania contended.

“Georgia’s energy sector was unbelievably corrupt,” he said. “They
[energy-sector officials] had ways of seizing money that were almost
state-of-the-art. … Our current interior minister [Giorgi
Baramidze], though only 29, is the most competent we’ve ever had.
Already, he has a 16-month plan in place to reconstruct and make the
energy sector more attractive for investment.”

Zhvania suggested that Georgia was now in position to promote
stabilization in the broader Caucasus region, adding that Tbilisi
could potentially help foster the normalization of relations between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. He added that during recent visits to
Azerbaijan and Armenia, Saakashvili had been “inspired by the
increased pragmatism” shown by the leaders of those nations, along
with a new sense that “all three countries live in one region.” There
had even been requests, Zhvania said, for Georgia to serve as a venue
for regular discussions on improving regional cooperation.

The uncertainty surrounding the Ajaria issue clouded Zhvania’s
generally sunny assessment of Georgian stabilization efforts.
Saakashvili’s efforts to restore the central government’s authority
in all of the country’s constituent entities have brought Tbilisi to
the brink of armed confrontation with Ajaria on several occasions in
recent months. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Tbilisi-Batumi tension is once again spiking. On April 28, Ajarian
leader Aslan Abashidze confirmed that armed forces loyal to his
regional authority had been mobilized to repel a potential attack by
Tbilisi. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Zhvania said the Ajaria issue was “not a dispute between Georgia’s
central and regional governments, or between Saakashvili and
Abashidze. It is Georgia’s attempt to restore democracy.” He insisted
that Abashidze has steadfastly refused to act within Georgia’s new
democratic framework, going on to recount a conversation he had with
Abashidze earlier in April. “I offered to [Abashidze] that if he
began a general disarmament, he could keep a small force for personal
security and stay in office to the end of his elected term. But he
must stop attacking people and journalists,” Zhvania said. “He
refused even to talk about it.”

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Saakashvili indicated that the Ajaria issue
would be resolved quickly. “Aslan Abashidze has no chance,” Imedi TV
quoted Saakashvili as saying April 27. “The time for such people is
over. I think that gradually – not gradually but very soon –
everything will be settled.”

Saakashvili has been away from Georgia during most of the recent
crisis. On April 28 he arrived in Poland, following a three-day stay
in Ukraine. His tour has so far been devoted to boosting commerce. In
Kiev, Saakashvili took action to encourage free trade between Georgia
and Ukraine.

Georgian officials insist that they have no plans to use force to
resolve the Ajaria standoff. In Washington, Zhvania called on the
United States and Russia to exert pressure on Abashidze to
“compromise.” According to White House spokesman Scott McClellan, US
President George W. Bush discussed Georgian domestic developments
with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during an April 26 conversation.

Russian leaders have tended to view Saakashvili’s administration as
the aggressor in the Tbilisi-Batumi standoff. On April 28, the
Russian Duma adopted a statement that expressed concern over the
recent escalation of tension, the Civil Georgia web site reported.
“We have all reasons to suppose that Tbilisi plans to use force for
the conflict resolution,” the Duma statement said. It went on to
recognize that the Ajaria matter was an “internal affair,” but it
stressed that the issue had the potential to adversely impact Russian
national security.

During face-to-face discussions April 27, top Bush administration
officials reportedly pressed Zhvania for assurances that Tbilisi
would do everything possible to avoid violence in Ajaria, Civil
Georgia reported. “Everybody understands that presence of illegal
armed groups in one of Georgia’s regions is inadmissible and the
problem should be solved once and forever through peaceful means,”
Zurab Zhvania told Georgian reporters just before holding talks with
US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Editor’s Note: Alex van Oss is a freelance journalist based in
Washington, DC.

Azeri president fails to start Karabakh settlement from scratch – daily

Yeni Musavat, Baku
29 Apr 04

Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan
respectively started their meeting at 1330 [0830 gmt] Baku time
yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the OSCE [Minsk Group]
cochairs.

[Passage omitted: Presidents’ remarks on the meeting]

Observers pay a special attention to a point from the presidents’
statements. Ilham Aliyev acknowledged that efforts to restart talks
from scratch yielded no results. It is no secret that Ilham Aliyev,
who stepped into his father’s shoes at the expense of certain
conditions, has been burdened (or he burdened himself) with
troublesome problem of making compromises on Karabakh.

Ilham Aliyev realized his responsibilities and therefore, he wanted to
resume the negotiations on the Karabakh settlement from scratch and
this might have been advantageous to Azerbaijan. However, Aliyev’s
efforts received sharp reactions, particularly from the USA, and the
new co-chairman [of the OSCE Minsk group], Steven Mann, stated openly
that not only it was important to give the go-ahead for the
negotiations but it was necessary for Azerbaijan to compromise.

The above said has also to do with Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan. He has been manipulating the “Karabakh card” for a long
period and it is high time for him to make concessions. It is not by
accident that the French president also “reprimanded” him [Kocharyan]
before a visit to Warsaw… [ellipsis as published].

There only remains to wait for the effects of this and next meetings
on the overall atmosphere in Azerbaijan and Armenia.

[Passage omitted: Presidents of the South Caucasus republics also met
yesterday]

Portland Press Herald
Friday, April 30, 2004

Dispatches
Staff reports
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

Portland: Jews, Armenians will host examination of Holocaust

PORTLAND – Portland’s Jewish and Armenian communities will host a public
forum Sunday afternoon to examine the effects of the Nazi Holocaust and the
Armenian genocide on subsequent generations.

The forum will be at 2 p.m. in Luther Bonney Auditorium at the University of
Southern Maine, off Bedford Street.

Speakers will include Vigen Guroian, theology and ethics professor at Loyola
College in Baltimore, and Abraham Peck, director of USM’s Academic Council
for Post-Holocaust Christian, Jewish and Islamic Studies. For more
information, call 772-1959 or 780-5331.

RUSSIAN DUMA OFFICIAL WARNS AGAINST USE OF FORCE IN GEORGIA’S AJARIA

RIA news agency, Moscow
30 Apr 04

MOSCOW

Andrey Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the CIS and
Relations with Compatriots, has warned against attempts by Georgia to
resolve the Ajaria problem by force.

“Developments with regard to Ajaria is causing great concern yet
again,” Andrey Kokoshin has told RIA-Novosti.

In his view, “the destabilization of the situation in the region
caused by the Georgian authorities’ attempts to resolve this problem
by force directly touches on the interests of Russia’s national
security. This was stated in the Duma’s recent appeal to Georgian
MPs.”

Kokoshin believes that in dealing with the Ajaria problem, “the Muslim
factor and the overall difficult configuration of the international
situation – the worsening situation in Iraq, an upsurge of terrorism
in Uzbekistan and Spain, the signs of growing influence of radical
Islamism in Turkey and a number of other factors – should be taken
into account”. “Attempts to resolve the Ajaria problem by force may
have such consequences for stability in the region that even joint
actions by Russia, the West, Georgia, Armenia and other countries
aimed at normalizing the situation in the region may turn out very
costly indeed,” Andrey Kokoshin stressed.

[Congressional Record: April 28, 2004 (House)]
[Page H2451-H2452]
The Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr28ap04-141]

NOW IS THE TIME–WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to remind the world that the
24th of April marked the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a
systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide of the Ottoman Empire.
Also, it marked yet another year with the U.S. formally recognizing the
atrocities that occurred. Considering how well documented the genocide
is in the U.S. archives and through an overwhelming body of first-hand,
governmental, and diplomatic evidence this is nothing less than a
disgrace. I also rise to reaffirm my support for the adoption of the
Genocide Resolution H. Res. 193. The purpose of this legislation is
prevent future genocides by stressing the importance of remembering and
learning the lessons of past crimes against humanity, including the
Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides
in hopes of preventing future atrocities. In addition, this resolution
strengthen America’s commitment to the universal values of the Genocide
Convention and asks the United States to commemorate the 15th
anniversary of the Genocide Convention. Support for this legislation is
widespread with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious,
civil, and human rights organizations calling for its passage.
As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, it was an honor
to be instrumental in preparing the report which gained unanimous
approval at the committee level. The report described the Armenian
Genocide in the following terms: “Beginning in 1915, the Islamic
Turkish state of the Ottoman Empire sought to end the collective
existence of the Christian Armenian population. From 1915 through 1918,
during World War I, the Ottoman Empire subjected the Armenian people to
deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and
starvation. The atrocities were renewed between 1920 and 1923. It is
estimated that one and a half million Armenians were killed out of over
two million Armenians who had lived in the Ottoman Empire. It should be
noted that these activities ceased with the institution of the new
Republic of Turkey in October, 1923.” This past March, I signed onto a
bipartisan letter to Speaker Hastert asking to bring H. Res. 193 to
vote but we have not yet been given the opportunity to vote on this
important legislation. Today, also marks the day of the Armenian
Genocide Observance on Capital Hill and I join over 110 House and
Senate Members who have agreed to co-host this observance.
The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in U.S. history. In a July
24, 1915 cable, American Consul Davis noted that, “I do not believe
there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general
and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated in this region or
that a more fiendish, diabolical scheme has ever been conceived by the
mind of man. What the order is officially and nominally to exile the
Armenians from these Vilayets may mislead the outside world for a time,
but the measure is nothing but a massacre of the most atrocious nature.
It would be that even if all the people had allowed to perish on the
road. As a greater part of them,

[[Page H2452]]

however, have been actually murdered and as there is no doubt that this
was done by order of the Government, there can be no pretense that the
measure is anything else but a general massacre.”
Now more than ever as the world is gripped by unrest and terrorism,
the memory of the Genocide underscores our responsibility to help
convey our cherished tradition of respect for fundamental human rights
and opposition to mass slaughter. We owe it to the victims of the
Genocide to acknowledge what happened and to teach our students and
children about their suffering, so that we can fulfill our obligation
to ensure that genocide will never happen again. Our future generation
should be able to say, “I learned, I acknowledge, and I will work to
prevent it from happening again.”

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
May 1 2004

Preservation order lifeline for Melkonian
By Jean Christou

THE government has slapped a preservation order on the Melkonian
Educational Institute (MEI) in Nicosia, giving the school, slated to
close next year, a temporary reprieve.

The preservation order, issued by the Town Planning Department, states
that `no alteration or construction be executed on the buildings,
group of buildings and areas … considered of special architectural /
historical / social importance’ and clearly marked in the relevant
government land surveys plans, an announcement from the MEI’s alumni
said.

`However, there are still no assurances about the school’s
continuation beyond June 2005, after which a good number of Armenian
students living in Cyprus would be left deprived of a
national-language school, while the boarding students are under threat
of being sent home,’ the announcement said.

The central board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), in
New York said last month that the 78-year-old school would close in
June 2005, but the alumni says that the Melkonian brothers’ will does
not confer to the AGBU the right to `denature or destroy these
Armenian structures’.

The loss-making Melkonian is sitting on a £40 million plot in the
capital’s commercial district and reports are rife that it was up for
grabs by developers.

The AGBU said in November that the school was not for sale, but then
changed tack and announced the closure. The alumni are convinced the
foundation’s only aim is to `take the money and run’.

The preservation order covers the twin buildings of the school, which
was erected as an orphanage by the Melkonian brothers in 1926, the old
residence of the founders, the wooded area on the main Limassol road,
the boarding house and the teachers’ apartments.

`In effect, the school is now out of bounds for any developer or any
other school contemplating to take over the Melkonian grounds to
develop their own campus, as the preservation order forbids any
development or construction work beyond the present state of the
buildings.

The Town Planning Department in is decision took into account the fact
that the Melkonian buildings were characteristic or unique examples of
urban architecture of Nicosia.

`The preservation of the architectural or historical heritage, the
above examples of which are part of, regarding the important factor
for the successful evolution and development of the town planning
infrastructure of Nicosia,’ the order said.

Council of Europe resolution backfired on Armenian opposition, minister says

Noyan Tapan news agency
3 May 04

YEREVAN

The resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
[PACE] on the domestic political situation in Armenia crushed the
opposition’s major arguments, it boomeranged against the opposition,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has said in an interview
with Armenian Public TV. He noted that “the resolution cut the ground
from under the feet of our opposition”.

Thus, the resolution, as well as the report that it was based on, gave
answers to the opposition’s major arguments that the president was
elected illegally, the election results were falsified and that
therefore, a referendum of confidence had to be conducted.

[Passage omitted: quotes from the resolution]

The minister said that the PACE said unambiguously that the
presidential election results, despite violations during the
elections, had been ratified by the international community and could
not be altered under pressure.

[Passage omitted: more quotes from the resolution]

At the same time, the minister said: “When the opposition’s actions
are illegal and unconstitutional, the authorities have no other choice
but to counter them, for their duty is to establish constitutional
order.”

In Oskanyan’s opinion, “the opposition has taken the wrong path” and
“this path leads to nowhere”. He said that the country’s authority is
very high, “it has reached the highest point”, the process of
Armenia’s integration into Europe, investment programmes, reforms and
strengthening democracy are rated highly. The foreign minister
expressed his anxiety over the fact that the opposition believed that
“the worse, the better” and stressed that this behaviour of the
opposition posed a great threat to the country at international
organizations. Oskanyan said that many problems have to be resolved,
including those related to the deepening of democracy and serious
challenges – both concerning the settlement of the Karabakh problem
and the continuation of the economic development. It takes a
constructive opposition to resolve them, Oskanyan said.