Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

ARMENIA DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORTS SHELLING FROM AZERBAIJAN

ITAR-TASS, Russia
March 7 2006

YEREVAN, March 7 (Itar-Tass) – The Armenian Defense Ministry has
reported the shelling of border army units from Azerbaijan on Monday
and overnight to Tuesday.

According to the spokesman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, Colonel
Seiran Shakhsuvaryan, the Armenian side had not retaliated with fire.

He said positions in three regions had come under fire.

Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan believes there is “no particular
aggravation of the situation on the border”. The minister, who is also
secretary of the National Security Council, told Russian reporters here
that following the signing of an agreement on ceasefire 12 years ago,
it has been violated on a monthly or weekly basis.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday the
shelling of the Azerbaijani western Kazakhsky region from the side of
Armenia. Ministry spokesman Ilgar Verdiyev said national army positions
had been shelled twice from Armenia. He said Azerbaijani positions
had been shelled from sub-machine guns and machine guns. He said
there had been no losses among Azerbaijani military. No retaliatory
fire followed, he added.

AZERBAIJAN CONTINUES UNABATED CEASEFIRE BREACHES

Armenpress
Mar 09 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS; The Armenian military reported fresh
violations of truce on March 7 and 8 . The defense ministry said
Azerbaijani forces on Wednesday continued to violate the ceasefire
regime in the westernmost sections of the border in Ijevan and
Shorzha regions.

On March 8 Azerbaijani troops shelled Armenian military units in
northeastern Tavush province and in Vayots Dzor that borders with
Azerbaijan’s enclave Nakhichevan. One of soldiers, the 19-year-old
Arsen Zakevosian, was wounded and died while being transported to a
military hospital in Ijevan on Friday in Ijevan.

Armenian defense ministry also denied allegations by the Azerbaijani
side that its positions in Kazah region were shelled by Armenians.

2004-2006 EXPENDITURES ON IMPROVING WOMEN’S CONDITION IN ARMENIA TO MAKE ABOUT 1 MLN USD

Noyan Tapan
Mar 09 2006

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. At the March 9 sitting RA government
approved the list and schedule of the programs envisaged by 2004-2010
national program of improvement of women’s condition and raising of
their role in the society. RA Ministers of Labor and Social Issues,
Education and Science, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Territorial
Government, Nature Protection, Trade and Economic Development, Culture
and Youth Affairs, Head of RA Police and Governors were charged to
ensure the implementation of the envisaged events. As Lala Ghazarian,
Head of Women, Family, and Children Department of RA Ministry of
Labor and Social Issues, informed journalists after the sitting, the
main goal of the program is to use women’s potential to the maximum
extent. According to her, in 2004-2006 the program’s expenditures
will make about 1 mln USD, the most part of which is given by UN and
other international organizations.

L.Ghazarian said that within the framework of the program it’s
envisaged to organize trainings on gender issues for civil servants
this year. It was mentioned that spreading of information on gender
problems has already started at 36 educational institutions. According
to L.Ghazarian, it’s envisaged to work out a bill “On Equal Rights
and Opportunities” where the concrete mechanisms of raising women’s
role in the society will be exactly mentioned.

AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENT IS ON OFFICIAL VISIT IN JAPAN

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 9 2006

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had a one-on-one meeting with
Japanese Emperor Akihito on 8 March, in the framework of his official
visit to Japan.

APA reports quoting ‘Azertag’ that highly appraising official visit
of the Azerbaijani President to Japan, His Majesty Akihito said
development of bilateral relations would be useful for both sides.

Touching upon the historical friendly links between two peoples, the
Emperor said Japan is deeply interested in strengthening of relations
with Azerbaijan. The Emperor added that successful reforms are leading
Azerbaijan to the world’s developed counties.

President Aliyev said he was pleased with the visit, and spoke of
the legal, democratic, secular state building process ongoing in
Azerbaijan. “The current visit will open a new phase in development
of bilateral relations”, he emphasized.

President Aliyev also said Azerbaijan always attaches great importance
to mutually beneficial ties with the world countries.

“From this standpoint, the relations with Japan are of particular
importance. The country is open to businessmen of world counties,”
Mr.Aliyev stressed.

Speaking of the works done for joint development of prospects at the
Azerbaijan sector on the Caspian, the Azerbaijan President said the
Japanese Itocu had greater share in the projects.

During the talk, also were focused the prospects of the Azeri-Japanese
cooperation, the situation in the region, settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh conflict and other questions.

President Aliyev at his residence in Tokyo received the President
of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ms. Sadako Ogata
yesterday. Reminding that Japan is keen in development of ties in all
fields, and the Japanese companies had invested in some important
projects in Azerbaijan, Ms. Sadako Ogata said that the Japanese
credits are for expansion of cooperation with Azerbaijan, “which is
such a country in the Caucasus that any investment in its economy
would certainly yield fruits in future and promote dynamic progress”.

The Azerbaijan President expressed consent with the relations
established between JICA and Azerbaijan, noting there are good
opportunities and prospects for widening of co-operation between
the countries.

President Aliyev also attended the Azerbaijan-Japan Economic Forum
yesterday. The forum brought together representatives of 30 Azerbaijani
and 100 Japanese companies.

Mr. Aliyev gave a large speech, expressing hope that the Forum would
benefit mutual ties.

As a result of the Forum, some companies from each side have sealed
several million dollars contracts.

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 10 2006

ARMENIANS ATTACKED IN TSALKA

March 9 an attack was launched against citizens of Armenian
nationality in the city of Tsalka (regional center of Tsalka Region,
Georgia). As a result of the onslaught one person was killed and two
injured.
23-year-old Gevorg Gevorgyan died; 25-year-old V. Sahakyan and K.
Baloyan were taken to hospital with severe injuries. 7 hours after
the incident Baloyan was delivered to a city hospital in Tbilisi.
According to eye-witnesses, a group of Armenians was attacked by
about 15 people. The victims do not know the reasons for the assault,
however, in their opinion, they were assaulted by Adjarian or Swani
settlers.
Georgian Ministry of Home Affairs special subdivisions dislocated in
the Tsalka region did not make arrangements to prevent from the
bloodshed.
In connection with the incident the Tsalka region police instituted
proceedings. Besides, the roads connecting the regional center with
the Tsalka region villages inhabited by Armenians have been closed.

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 10 2006

AMD 50MLN TARGETED FOR CHILD AND YOUTH SPORTS DEVELOPMENT IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN, March 10. /ARKA/. Armenian Government allocated AMD 50mln
for child and youth sports development. The Government’s press
service says the money is to be given to Government-affiliated State
Sport Committee for passing it on to Armenian Football Federation.
($1 = AMD 453.13). M.V. –0 –

Civil Georgia, Georgia
March 12 2006

New Opposition Party Holds Inaugural Assembly

The political party of ex-Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili –
`Georgia’s Way’ held its inaugural assembly on March 12. MP Gia
Tortladze became the chairman of the party’s political council. MP
Tortladze is a member of the Democratic Front parliamentary faction,
which also unites MPs from opposition Republican and Conservative
parties.

Addressing up to 2000 supporters gathered in the Philharmonic Hall in
Tbilisi Salome Zourabichvili said that currently the country faces
two major threats: return back to pre-Rose Revolution period and, as
she put it `revolutionism.’

`We do not need any more revolutions… Democracy will celebrate and I
will be very happy if the government change will occur through free
and fair elections,’ Zourabichvili said.

She also said there are signs that promises of Rose Revolutions have
been forgotten by the authorities. `We see a `a team of
neo-Shevardnadzists’ in the Parliament,’ Zourabichvili said referring
to the ruling National Movement party.

The leader of Georgia’s Way also criticized the Interior Ministry for
a high-handed tactics and a failure to protect `personal security’ of
ordinary citizens.

`Culture has always been a pillar of [Georgia] and not the police, or
any other structures as claimed by some politicians,’ Zourabichvili
said referring to the statements made by influential parliamentarians
from the ruling party who described the Interior Ministry and
Minister Vano Merabishvili as a `pillar of stability’ in Georgia.

Zourabichvili also said that Georgia needs `the strong army.’ `But
not because we should go into war,’ she added.

She also said that we should respect each citizen of Georgia. `We
forget the meaning of this word: citizen. Yesterday I head all day
through while listening [news] about Tsalka incident: Armenians,
Armenians. Who are they? They are Georgian citizens and the problem
is that the citizens are protected neither in Tsalka, nor in
Tbilisi,’ Zourabichvili said.

OSKANIAN: ARMENIA ALREADY MADE ITS PART OF COMPROMISES IN NK CONFLICT

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 13 2006

Armenia has made its part of concessions in the settlement of the
conflict. We are anticipating Azerbaijan to make concessions now,”
Armenian FM Vardan Oskanian stated (APA).

“Nagorno Garabagh people’s right to self-determination is the key
issue in Nagorno Garabagh settlement, Baku will touch upon the issue
willy-nilly, If Azerbaijan does not make compromise, it will mean,
that Azerbaijan remains on maximalist positions. Armenia has made
its part of concessions and it was not easy, he emphasized. “I do
not know how our people will take it,” Oskanian remarked.

TURKISH NOVELIST FACING PRISON OVER GENOCIDE CLAIMS

The Herald, UK
Ankara October 17 2005

A Turkish novelist who could face prison over charges he insulted
his country has defended himself, insisting he did not describe the
killings of Armenians in the early 20th century as a genocide.

Orhan Pamuk, one of Turkey’s best-known writers, is to go on trial on
December 16 and could face up to three years in prison for comments
on the killings of Armenians and Kurds.

The United States and the European Union have called on Turkey to
drop charges to ensure freedom of expression.

“I did not say, we Turks killed this many Armenians,” Pamuk said. “I
did not use the word ‘genocide’.”

Turkish prosecutors filed charges against Pamuk after he told a Swiss
newspaper in February “30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians were
killed in these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it”.

He was referring to Kurds killed during Turkey’s two-decade conflict
with autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas and to Armenians killed
around the time of the First World War.

The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, is branded as a terrorist group by
the US and EU. Indeed, Turkish authorities yesterday blamed Kurdish
rebels for an explosion caused by a remote-controlled bomb which
injured five people at an Istanbul filling station on Saturday.

Armenians say 1.5 million of their countrymen were killed by Ottoman
Turks, which Armenia and several nations recognise as a genocide.

Turkey, however, denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and that the Armenians were killed in
civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Asked about the numbers of people killed that he referred to in his
interview with the Swiss newspaper, Pamuk said “they were spontaneous
remarks”.

“There are martyred Turkish soldiers among those 30,000 to 35,000
killed people. Let’s express our respect to them,” Pamuk said,
complaining that he had become a victim of a “defamation campaign”.

The EU, which Turkey hopes to join, has said it will be watching
closely when Pamuk goes on trial in December.

Pamuk’s books, which include the internationally acclaimed Snow and
My Name is Red, have been translated into more than 20 languages and
the novelist has received numerous international awards.

C.H.P. CLINGS TO ITS FAIRY TALE
By SemÝh ÝdÝz

Turkish Press
Oct 17 2005

Inal Batu is one of the leading figures of the Republican People’s
Party (CHP) and he was shut out by the party administration. Speaking
to Haber Turk on Friday, Batu said that he was afraid of nobody and
that he would continue to speak his mind. Former Ambassador Batu said
that the decision to start Turkey’s European Union talks taken at
Luxembourg on Oct. 3 wasn’t ideal. However, he also said that Turkey
had moved to a higher class. In short, he is one of the people in the
CHP pleased with the outcome. However, he doesn’t care for the CHP’s
stance. He complains that although it has many international ties,
the CHP doesn’t use these ties on Turkey’s behalf on the EU issue.

Indeed, it’s difficult to say that the CHP lobbied hard for Turkey by
using its contacts at the Socialist International meeting before the
Luxembourg summit. Meanwhile, CHP leader Deniz Baykal met neither
with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, nor with any other social
democrat leader. The CHP staff was distant from social democratic
members of the European Parliament and national parliaments.

Actually, this is understandable because can you imagine CHP deputy
leader Onur Oymen or CHP Deputy Sukru Elekdag discussing the Kurdish,
Cyprus or Armenian issue with social democrats at the EU? When they
open their mouths, one could see that they’re not on the ‘social
democrat wing’ of the political spectrum because the political view
they claim to own is humanist, socialist and internationalist.

However, they’re proud of being nationalists and partisans for state
control.

In sum, the fact that the common view of social democracy clashes
with the remarks made by these people prevents them from taking their
place among their ‘comrades’ on the international level. They can’t
even exhibit solidarity with their brothers in the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). They are afraid of giving an appointment
to discuss the Kurdish issue to the intellectuals who were received
by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and who call themselves social
democrats or socialists.

One can find information on definable characteristics of socialism in
the Declaration of Principles accepted by the Socialist International
in 1989 at socialistinternational.com. When the content of this
document is compared with the CHP’s remarks and stance, we see that
this party insists on keeping a lie alive. Actually, if the CHP says
that it’s not social democratic at all, there would be no problem.

However, it can’t say that and it’s falling apart in this dilemma.

–Boundary_(ID_Q5X3wHZfIipWX+SNfjJ1QA)–