Author: Tavakalian Edgar

`UNWANTED STANDPOINT ON NKR IS BEING FORMED IN CE’

A1plus
05-10-2004

‘Using the resolution Azerbaijanians again profiteered in NKR issue.
Fortunately, we managed to alleviate it. But it doesn’t mean that we
succeeded to hamper Azerbaijanians to introduce the document where
Karabakh as well was represented as an occupied territory. Of course,
it would be good if other territories weren’t represented as occupied
territories, either butwe didn’t manage`, Armenian delegation member
Shavarsh Kocharyan said after discussion on Azerbaijan’s report.

– What impact will Azerbaijan report have on settlement of Karabakhi
conflict?

-Irrespective of the changes, where Karabakhi issue is talked about
everyone is at a deadlock and accepts that conflict is between Armenia
and Azerbaijan. We must remind all the time that the conflict can’t
be settled without participation of Karabakh.

-Who is to blame for such an opinion?

First it is the neglect in our foreign policy. No one made Robert
Kocharyan assume settlement of Karabakhi conflict. The meetings are
important but Karabakh must partake in those meetings. The conflict
won’t be solved without Karabakh. Unfortunately, the standpoint that
Armenia has occupied a part of Azerbaijan prevails in CE.

– Are you sure that CE thinks so?

-I don’t say that. Documents prove it. Azerbaijanians cynically
announce what they want – `Armenians have occupied our territories’.

President of NKR urges more diaspora investment in Karabakh

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
4 Oct 04

[Presenter] The president of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic (NKR),
Arkadiy Gukasyan, spoke about the situation in Artsakh [Karabakh] at
the 83rd international congress of the Armenian General Benevolent
Union today. The Artsakh president stressed the importance of the
diaspora’s support for the country’s development. Gukasyan told the
congress that it was high time to switch from humanitarian assistance
to implementing development programmes and urged more active
investments in Artsakh.

Asked by members of the diaspora about the settlement process of the
Karabakh conflict, Arkadiy Gukasyan said that the NKR would be either
an independent state or a part of the Republic of Armenia.

[Arkadiy Gukasyan, captioned] We understand that it is impossible for
Karabakh to be a part of Azerbaijan. We are trying to persuade the
international community and the mediators that if they are trying to
settle the problem by returning it to Azerbaijan, this will lead to
war. Fortunately, today the international community understands
this. There is no doubt that Karabakh will either be an independent
state or a part of Armenia.

Pulse of the Twin Cities, MN
Sept 22 2004

Diamanda Galás: Jazz?

by Holly Day

For some odd reason, the All Music Guide categorizes Diamanda Galás a
jazz performer. Maybe it’s because she plays the piano, usually
unaccompanied, and that’s something jazz performers do. If Diamanda
Galás is considered a jazz artist, then I hold great and high hopes
for the future of jazz. Jazz that includes Diamanda opens the door to
a potential horde of intense, wild-eyed performers that scream in
multiple octaves and utilize Tibetan throat singing and operatic
wails, sometimes all in the same song. Because this is what Diamanda
does in her
music, and whether you’re frightened or intrigued by her
performances, one thing’s for sure – you will never forget having been
in her presence.

Over the twenty-some years of her recording career, Diamanda’s
released fourteen imposing and mostly thematic albums. She’s written
entire albums about AIDS (Plague Mass, Masque of the Red Death),
imprisonment (Panoptikon), sexual oppression (Wild Women with Steak
Knives), dementia (Vena Cava), and torture (Schrei X). She also does
some awesome and frightening covers of blues standards, and has
collaborated with artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin’s John Paul
Jones and cornet player Bobby Bradford.

`Spend one week with a Greek family, and all the darkness and despair
and melodrama will find its way to the surface,’ says Diamanda of her
choice of subject matter. `It’s a culture that is kind of a dark
culture. It’s dark by the standards of what Americans consider to be
`normal’ culture. [The Greek people] are very concerned with things
like death, and very concerned with the politics of genocide, because
that’s how the culture was shaped. That’s the experience of the
culture. For the Greeks, life is a celebration, so the thing they’re
most afraid of is death. So that would be an obsession. The
discussion of death is a mirror of the brilliance and the gift of
life, you know, the beauty of life, and so that is why there’s so
much of that discussion. And also, the issue of mortality has to do
with the fact that this was a culture that was invaded so many times
by Italians, Germans, Turks. And so I think that has something to do
with the darkness in my work, because I’ve heard lots of stories
since I was a little girl of deportations, and genocide, of the
Greeks by the Turks, because my father is from Asia Minor.’

It’s those stories passed down to her by her father that form the
basis behind her newest release, Defixiones: Will and Testament (Mute
Records), which covers the mass exodus and genocide of the Greeks,
Assyrians, and Armenians by the Turks in the years between 1914 and
1923. The two-disc collection contains poems and journal entries from
survivors of the exodus, as well as many writings from those who
didn’t make it. Ali Ahmad Said’s `The Desert,’ a first-hand account
of being forced to march across the desert with hundreds of other
refugees, says, `My era tells me bluntly/You don’t not belong …You
die because you are the face of the future.’ Diamanda relays the
story in the original Armenian in a dizzying volley of operatic
screams that rise up in anger and throb low in hopelessness within
heartbeats of each other. `Orders from the Dead,’ one of only two
songs here that Diamanda wrote the words to herself, provocatively
summarizes collection with a scream of, `I am the man unburied/who
cannot sleep/in forty pieces!’

`The Defixiones refers to the verb `to fix,’ to fix, to mark,’ says
Diamanda. `It’s like a needle that goes into a doll. It’s marking a
territory as your own, and it says that, with the marking of that
territory, you have certain power. Whether this is the power to, say,
put a curse on a competitor, or an enemy, or to say, `If you
desecrate this grave, your daughter’s daughter’s daughter will perish
slowly from a horrible disease.’ That’s the nature of this type of
curse. It’s something that was and still is practiced throughout the
Middle East by people who have very little power, and this is their
response, these curses are their only resource available. For
example, if you had Greek, Assyrians, Armenians, living under the
power of the Turks, the Turks, because they could, could easily dig
up a grave to steal the jewels, or steal anything that’s buried in
the grave. So there would be curses on the graves to warn them, and
maybe, that would be all they had, were those curses. That would be
the only thing they had to protect them, and that may have been quite
a delusional kind of power, but nonetheless, it was the only power
that was had by these people. So that’s pretty much what this album
is. I am saying, you cannot desecrate this memory,’ she explains,
wrapping up the interview. `You cannot pretend this grave, and these
people, did not exist by digging it up. It exists, and when you dig
it up, the power of these people’s anger will outlast you, and it
will drag you down screaming.’
Diamanda Galás performs on Tue., Sept. 28, at the Fitzgerald Theater.
7:30 p.m. All Ages. $27 adv/ $29 door. 10 E. Exchange St.
651-989-5151.

Washington Post
Keeping a key Caspian ally
Commentary
By S. Rob Sobhani

Today is the 10th anniversary of a landmark agreement
that changed the geopolitical landscape of the Caspian
Sea region forever and gave America access to huge oil
reserves previously under total control of the Soviet
Union.
After a decade, the relationship between the
contractual parties should remain a U.S. foreign
policy priority.
The agreement signed on this date in 1994 in Baku,
the capital of Azerbaijan, was a simple one between
the government of Azerbaijan and Foreign Oil Cos. for
developing three giant oil fields – Azeri, Chirag and
Guneshli. Production from the 6 billion barrels of
reserves in these fields will be shipped through the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline directly to the
Mediterranean Sea. From there the oil will be shipped
to Western markets, including ports on the U.S. East
Coast. The Caspian Sea region is home to 10 percent of
the world’s remaining oil reserves.

From the beginning, Azerbaijan wanted to be a friend
of America – the world’s sole remaining superpower –
and America needed access to non-Middle Eastern oil
reserves. But concluding this agreement was most
difficult given prevailing circumstances at the time.
Azerbaijan was at war with neighboring Armenia over
the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh. Twenty percent of
its landmass was under occupation and approximately 1
million of its 7 million citizens were refugees.
The people of Azerbaijan had only enjoyed
independence from the Soviet Union for three years,
during which the country witnessed serious political
and economic dislocation due to the Soviet collapse. A
further obstacle to signing this agreement was the
total opposition of Russia and Iran. This agreement
was seen as a threat to their national security
because it allowed American oil companies to work in
their backyards.
Only the vision, courage and political skills of
Heydar Aliev, former President of Azerbaijan, enabled
this landmark agreement to be signed. Heydar Aliev was
a former member of the Politburo turned Azeri patriot,
who successfully led his country to de facto sovereign
independence by not allowing either Russia to the
north or Iran to the south to interfere with his
country’s affairs.
Heydar Aliev realized very early that
U.S.-Azerbaijan interests were mutually reinforcing:
uninterrupted exploration, development and
transportation of Caspian Sea oil and natural gas to
international markets; peaceful resolution of the
lingering Nagorno-Karabagh conflict; limiting the
influence of radical Islam in the oil-rich Caspian Sea
region; and fighting the global war on terrorism. Mr.
Aliev saw no conflict between Azerbaijan’s Muslim
heritage and a secular government.He frequently said,
“Islam is our faith and belongs in our hearts and in
our deeds but not on the streets and in our politics.”

He was one of the first world leaders to offer
immediate assistance to the United States after the
tragic events of September 11, 2001. Mr. Aliev offered
immediate right to overfly Azerbaijan to U.S. military
aircraft flying to Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan voted for all the U.N. resolutions in
support of the United States. Working closely with
U.S. law-enforcement agencies, Azerbaijan identified
and arrested 30 very dangerous terrorists who had
entered Azerbaijan. A decade of friendship and
cooperation explains the presence of Azerbaijani
troops beside American forces in both Afghanistan and
Iraq.
This legacy of friendship, cooperation and support
has been passed on to Mr. Aliev’s son, Ilham Aliev
(elected president of Azerbaijan by a significant
majority this past year), who vows to continue his
father’s policies. The U.S., in turn, owes a
tremendous debt of gratitude to Azerbaijan and its
people for opening their hearts, despite tremendous
obstacles, to maintain their end of a bargain with
America that started in 1991 when oil contract
negotiations began.
Unfortunately, Washington has not always upheld
its end of this critical friendship. While both
Presidents Clinton and Bush have understood the
importance of Azerbaijan’s contributions to regional
energy security, Congress has turned its back on
America’s best ally, friend and working partner in the
former Soviet Union. Congress has failed miserably to
appreciate the geopolitical importance of Azerbaijan.
Regardless who wins the elections in November, the
U.S. has an obligation to uphold this legacy of
friendship and cooperation by immediately taking the
following corrective initiatives:
(1) Congress must permanently remove Section 907
of the Freedom Support Act that treats Azerbaijan as
an enemy worse than North Korea and has been in effect
since 1991. (Beginning after September 11, 2001,
President Bush has had to waive Section 907 each year
for Azerbaijan to be treated as America’s friend and
receive any direct U.S. assistance.)
(2) Given Azerbaijan’s strategic location as the
gateway to Caspian Sea oil, Congress must appropriate
funds for increased military cooperation between
Azerbaijan and America.
(3) Make the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh
conflict a priority of American diplomacy. Resumption
of this conflict can negatively affect the flow of oil
to the United States.
(4) Invite the new president of Azerbaijan to the
U.S. to thank him for staunchly supporting America’s
war on terrorism.
In conclusion, America has a strong ally just
north of the Middle East that has been taken for
granted for too long. America has been asking its
friends to stand up and be counted. We might consider
doing the same.

S. Rob Sobhani is president of Caspian Energy
Consulting and an adjunct professor at Georgetown
University.

The Guardian, UK
Sept 22 2004

Grown-up aesthetic bridges generation divide

Jess Cartner-Morley, fashion editor

At any catwalk show, the front row tells its own story. At Betty
Jackson yesterday, the glam duo of Jo and Leah Wood, wife and
daughter of Rolling Stone Ronnie, encapsulated the secret of the
designer’s success.
While London fashion week suffers from an uneasy generation gap,
divided between older designers who struggle to make headlines and
young ones who make headlines but precious few sales, Jackson
maintains a following among old and young.

The fashion climate is well suited to her designs. Both London and
New York have confirmed that bare midriffs are out and ladylike
dressing is in – at least for six months – meaning Jackson’s grown-up
aesthetic is back in the spotlight.

For next summer, her skirts and day dresses are knee-length; her
elegant trousers are worn low-slung but with a T-shirt tucked in.
Shirt-dresses in safari-brown cotton, and frocks in butterfly-print
silk, are worn with low-heeled metallic summer sandals – useful
clothes but with a healthy dose of frivolity.

Jackson describes her inspiration as the “decadent days of the 30s
together with the louche international lifestyles of the 70s”. For
evening, she sent out a showstopping long, pale column with art-deco
silver beading and a glamourous bead and feather-trimmed kaftan.

The 30s and 70s have cropped up repeatedly this season. New York had
Ralph Lauren’s 30s gowns and Luella’s “1970s Pacha” look; London has
seen Elspeth Gibson’s stunning 30s satin dresses and trousers in
classic Claridges shades of eau de nil and cream, and FrostFrench’s
Studio 54 glam.

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Far from being a coincidence, the emergence of these decades was, in
fact, inevitable – fashion ploughs through revivals at an alarming
rate, and the last two years have seen the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 80s.
Next season, it might be time for the 90s.

Earlier in the day, it was the turn of five emerging designers.
Unfortunately, most did little to challenge the stereotype that young
London designers’ collections are ugly, unwearable, and badly
presented – one expected a pair of one-legged trousers to appear any
moment. There was a ray of hope, however, in Gardem, the collection
by Garen Demerdijan, a Lebanese Armenian born in 1975 and based in
Paris.

Although yesterday was his first catwalk show, he has run a small
business since 2001, and has been stocked in the directional London
boutique Browns Focus for six seasons.

Yesterday’s collection had a sophistication of outlook and quality of
execution that set him apart from other young hopefuls.

Trendwatch Socks & high heels

Ankle socks with high heels, a favourite with the Hoxton fashionista
wishing to convey glamour and subversion, have this week become a
staple look.

At Jessica Ogden, left, socks were worn with chunky wedge sandals for
a nostalgic, schoolgirl effect. At Gardem, footlets – mini-socks that
leave your ankle and the top of your foot bare – made an unlikely
appearance, in black under strappy sandals.

But it was Paul Smith who showed the week’s newest combination. Long
ribbed socks almost to the knee were worn with loafers: very English
eccentric. Should you be tempted to follow suit, look for
fawn-coloured socks. A colour similar to but slightly darker than
your skin colour makes this a surprise leg-lengthener.

9.6% GDP GROWTH REGISTERED IN ARMENIA IN JAN-AUG, 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 20. ARMINFO. The highest GDP growth in Armenia was
registered in Jan-Aug, 2004 – 9.6%. ARMINFO was informed in the press
service of the National Statistical Service of Armenia, according to
preliminary data, in Aug as against July the economic growth made up
2.4%. By the end of Aug 2004 the GDP totaled 980.2 bln drams. The GDP
index-deflator grew by 7.3%.

In Jan-Aug of the current year the Gross agriculture produce increased
by 14.4% as against the same period of 2003, totaling 234.1 bln drams
and in Aug as against July it increased by 15.8%. Volume of
construction decreased by 26.5.% in Aug as against July, and in
Jan-Aug it increased by 17.8%, reaching 131.9 bln drams.

By the end of Aug, 2004 foreign trade turnover totaled $1.3 bln (717.5
bln drams), decreasing by 5% as against the same period of 2003. The
volume of industrial product totaled 330.9 bln drams (or 33.8% out of
GDP – ARMINFO) in Jan-Aug, increasing by 2.8% as against the same
period of last year, and in Aug as against July it increased by
5.9%. Energy generation increased by 12.2% in Jan-Aug, and in Aug as
against July it increased by 10.3%, totalling 497.6 mln kw/h. In the
period under review the AMD/USD exchange rate was 549.08 drams against
one US dollar.

Armenian defence minister, US envoy discuss Karabakh

Armenian Radio First Programme, Yerevan
20 Sep 04

The secretary of the National Security Council under the Armenian
president and defence minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, today received the
newly-appointed US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans.

John Evans said that he was ready to cooperate with the Armenian
Defence Ministry as well as with the government. The sides also talked
about the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents’ [Robert Kocharyan and
Ilham Aliyev] meeting in Astana [on 15 September], stressing that
these bilateral meetings have a positive impact on the peaceful
settlement of the [Karabakh] conflict.

Speaking about the activity of the OSCE [Minsk Group] co-chairmen,
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan stressed: “I consider that the last 10 years
of peace is also the result of the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts.”

Both sides expressed their regret over the cancellation of NATO’s
Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises in Baku. The sides also
discussed a peaceful settlement to the Karabakh conflict and issues of
regional security.

La balkanisation du Caucase – Une prise d’otages inscrite dans un profond bouleversement politique

La balkanisation du Caucase – Une prise d’otages inscrite dans un profond
bouleversement politique
Kathia Légaré
Maîtrise en science politique, Université du Québec à Montréal

Édition du samedi 11 et du dimanche 12 septembre 2004

La prise d’otages de Beslan, la semaine dernière, se situe dans un contexte
géographique et politique beaucoup plus large que les républiques d’Ossétie et
de Tchétchénie, un contexte dépassant la politique de Poutine elle-même. Ce
drame s’est joué sur la trame d’un bouleversement politique profond de la région
du Caucase, région qui défraie les manchettes régulièrement depuis la fin du
communisme, au début des années 90.

Le Caucase est un large pont entre l’Europe et l’Orient, il semble chevaucher
une mer immense, qui est en fait divisée en deux parties, la mer Noire et la mer
Caspienne. Sa situation géographique et sa topographie lui ont donné une
fonction de montagne-

refuge, grâce à laquelle ont survécu des peuples historiques. Cet organisme aux
multiples mécanismes de protection montagneuse leur a permis de conserver leurs
singularités.

Le Caucase est si étroitement associé à ses populations qu’il serait possible de
croire que ses cultures ont émergé en même temps que les formations
montagneuses, car plusieurs de ces peuples n’existent nulle part ailleurs dans
le monde. Encore aujourd’hui, au moins une quarantaine de peuples vivent sur ces
440 000 km2. Ils se répartissent en quatre groupes de langues, dont plusieurs ne
sont pas intercompréhensibles, et en de multiples religions, qui se sont
elles-mêmes développées de façon originale. L’islam, par exemple, a
particulièrement été teinté de traditions locales.

Les fractures sous l’empire russe

La région est passée sous le contrôle de l’empire russe au terme d’une longue
guerre, avec laquelle les bolcheviques ont renoué, après la révolution de 1917.
Le Caucase du Nord a été intégré à la république soviétique de la Fédération
socialiste de Russie et les trois États du Caucase du Sud (Géorgie, Azerbaïdjan,
Arménie) sont devenus des membres de l’URSS.

Sous ce régime, la région a été fracturée en de multiples pièces, un aménagement
à l’origine de plusieurs conflits actuels. Staline n’avait en fait rien à envier
à Machiavel — si ce n’était de leur éloignement dans le temps, on aurait pu
croire que le premier a inspiré le second.

Staline s’est ingénié à créer une complexe cartographie qui se caractérise par
de multiples subdivisions, en une application ultime du principe «diviser pour
régner». Le régime soviétique avait en effet créé différents statuts
administratifs, dont le type le plus développé a été celui de «région ou
république autonome», un statut aussi attribué à des minorités dans les États
soviétiques unitaires.

À ce territoire autonome a été jumelé une minorité nationale, qui a
officiellement obtenu le contrôle des institutions politiques territoriales. Sur
le territoire de la Géorgie, les régions autonomes de l’Abkhazie et de l’Ossétie
du Sud ont été créées; en Azerbaïdjan, celle du Nagorny-Karabakh.

C’est dans le Caucase du Nord, où il n’y a jamais eu d’État indépendant au sens
moderne du terme, que la politique des nationalités de Staline s’est révélée
particulièrement machiavélique : sept républiques autonomes y ont été créées,
dont trois jumellent deux peuples que rien n’aurait amené à cohabiter : les
républiques tchétchéno-ingouche, kabardino-balkare et karatchevo-tcherkesse.

Il s’agit de véritables enclaves ethniques représentant parfaitement
l’instrumentalisation de l’appartenance nationale par le système soviétique. Ce
sont en fait de nouvelles lignes de division qui se superposent à la mosaïque
culturelle et lui donnent une autre signification. Ces structures «d’autonomie»
serviront en effet de leviers au pouvoir pour mater les révoltes et mettre sous
contrôle ces sociétés indépendantes.

En 1944, l’entreprise de Staline culmine dans la déportation, pour
«collaboration avec l’ennemi nazi», de deux millions d’habitants de cette région
vers des zones de peuplement d’Asie centrale. Kalmouks, Balkars, Karatchaïs,
Tchétchènes, Ingouches sont entre autres visés. Ils seront autorisés à retourner
dans leurs montagnes en 1956, mais ce rapatriement causera des tensions avec les
nouveaux habitants des lieux.

La transition post-communiste

Lorsque la structure soviétique s’effondre en 1991, l’espace soviétique entre
dans une transition très chaotique et incertaine. L’URSS se décompose en 15
parties et la Russie menace d’éclater en un casse-tête de 89 morceaux de taille
et de couleur différentes.

C’est pendant cette période de désorganisation, de flottement d’un système
autoritaire et centralisé vers «quelque chose» d’autre, que les frontières
administratives créées par Staline prennent une nouvelle signification, une
nouvelle fonction. Elles deviennent les contreforts de petits peuples qui, même
s’ils sont parfois minoritaires sur le territoire qui leur a été alloué,
contrôlent souvent les institutions politiques.

Partout en ex-URSS, on assiste à des replis régionaux et nationaux, seuls
repères dans cette période de bouleversement. Cependant, ce mouvement a une
signification particulière pour le Caucase, dont les nombreuses lignes de
division deviennent des fractures conflictuelles.

D’innombrables conflits ethnoterritoriaux ont lieu au cours des années 90, par
exemple entre les Ingouches et les Ossètes en 1992, à propos d’un territoire
cédé aux seconds après la déportation des premiers. Les trois républiques
binationales menacent aussi d’éclater, mais ce n’est finalement que la
république associant les Tchétchènes aux Ingouches qui se rompt en deux
républiques.

Dans le Caucase du Sud, les régions autonomes sont aussi des zones de conflit,
entre l’Arménie et l’Azerbaïdjan pour le Nagorny-Karabakh — une enclave dont la
population est largement arménienne en territoire azéri — et sur le territoire
de la Géorgie (Abkhazie, Ossétie du Sud), qui éclate littéralement en plusieurs
pièces. Aujourd’hui, de nombreux conflits sont en dormance, mais d’autres sont
très actifs.

C’est aussi à cette époque que les Balkans éclatent en un conflit sanglant. Les
affrontements prennent là-bas une teinte génocidaire. Le terme «balkanisation»
n’est pas associé nécessairement à l’épuration ethnique, mais évoque surtout un
espace géopolitique largement fragmenté où émergent des micronationalismes sur
les lignes de faille.

Ce territoire aurait présumément été homogénéisé par les politiques du
communisme de type soviétique, mais ses divergences réémergent dans un certain
contexte politique, lorsque les forces centrifuges s’affaiblissent — ce qui est
survenu lors de l’effondrement du système autoritaire communiste.

Le conflit en Tchétchénie

La nouvelle République de Tchétchénie, issue de la scission de la République
autonome conjointe avec les Ingouches, n’est pas la seule à réclamer son
indépendance dans la Fédération de Russie, car plusieurs républiques la
déclarent aussi. Elle est pourtant la seule à être envahie par l’armée russe, à
la fin de 1994, car le Kremlin n’y a pas suffisamment d’influence pour forcer
les chefs locaux à se conformer au contrat fédéral.

C’est à partir de 1999 que les groupes radicaux prennent le dessus sur les
forces nationalistes. Le discours des combattants tchétchènes se teinte
progressivement de propos islamistes, une idéologie qui fortifie la résistance
parce qu’elle offre une vision simplificatrice du monde. En répudiant les chefs
modérés, le Kremlin leur a donné une arme supplémentaire : celle de
l’impossibilité d’un règlement pacifique.

Les extrémistes ont comme projet d’unir les musulmans du Caucase dans une
communauté politique, et c’est pourquoi ils tentent d’étendre à toute la région
le conflit en Tchétchénie en procédant à des raids et à des prises d’otages. Les
événements de Beslan en sont l’exemple le plus dramatique. Les Ossètes ne sont
pas largement musulmans, mais la propagation de la terreur servirait la cause de
ces radicaux en renforçant l’antagonisme des parties. Quelques semaines
auparavant, les groupes radicaux avaient déclenché des affrontements sur le
territoire de l’Ingouchie.

Jusqu’à maintenant, les Caucasiens ne se sont pas largement liés à leur cause,
mais la propagation de la violence fait lentement son chemin. L’acharnement du
Kremlin à placer ses hommes politiques fantoches en Tchétchénie ne contribue pas
à stabiliser la situation dans la république et à endiguer le flot des jeunes
combattants désillusionnés par la situation socio-économique désastreuse de la
région et par l’impossibilité d’échapper aux violences de l’armée fédérale.

La nouvelle conquête politique de la Géorgie

La Révolution des roses a réactivé les conflits ethnoterritoriaux en Géorgie. En
effet, le nouveau président, Mikhaïl Saakachvili, ayant dirigé le renversement
du président Chévardnadzé en novembre 2003, a remis en cause l’indépendance de
facto des régions autonomes sécessionnistes de l’Abkhazie (au nord-ouest, près
de la Mer Noire) et de l’Ossétie du Sud.

En rompant le statu quo, le président Saakachvili s’est engagé dans une lutte de
légitimité avec les chefs locaux, qui a donné lieu à des affrontements armés
dans les dernières semaines. Les chefs de l’Abkhazie ont chassé du territoire
des centaines de milliers de Géorgiens et ont établi leur indépendance — non
reconnue au niveau international — entre 1993 et 1994. Depuis lors, la région
vit séparément de la Géorgie. L’échec de Saakachvili à faire entrer son armée
sur le territoire de l’Ossétie du Sud laisse présumer que le règlement du
conflit sera pénible et douloureux. Les plaies ouvertes par la transition sont
loin d’être guéries en Géorgie.

Azeri MPs urge NATO to cancel Armenian servicemen’s visit to Baku

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
10 Sep 04

The Azerbaijani parliament today appealed to NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer over Armenian servicemen’s attendance at the
Cooperative Best Effort-2004 exercises.

Given the results of Armenia’s aggressive policy against Azerbaijan
and the non-fulfilment of the UN Security Council’s four resolutions
[on Nagornyy Karabakh] by official Yerevan, the appeal reads that
the NATO leadership’s invitation to Armenian military officers to
attend the Baku-hosted exercises at this moment has caused a strong
reaction. It is quite clear that this decision, the consequences of
which have not been fully considered, may extremely aggravate the
situation in the region that is rather tense, end quote.

The Azerbaijani parliament stresses that protests against this
decision are not based on ethnic views because more than 20,000
ethnic Armenians currently live in Baku alone. Explaining these
protests by the suffering caused by the Armenian occupiers to the
Azerbaijani people, MPs express their decisive protest against
Armenian officers’ participation in the Azerbaijan-hosted military
exercises. The parliament hopes that this unconsidered decision, which
could undermine NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation and talks on the peaceful
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, will be reversed.

Azeris outraged by Armenian officers’ planned visit

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Sept 9 2004

A number of Azeri media have staged a protest against the planned
participation of military officers from Armenia in the NATO-sponsored
exercises due in Baku on September 12. The front pages of several
leading private and independent daily newspapers came out

blank on Saturday contained nothing but the “Azerbaijani media
protests the arrival of Armenian officers to Baku” message. Moreover,
Internet publications and independent ANS channel suspended their
broadcasts for three hours for the same reason. Official and
pro-government media outlets have not joined the protest. The
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said it had expressed its concern to
NATO over the Armenians’ presence, but refused to file an official
complaint.

A statement released jointly by local media says that the visit to
Baku by military men from Armenia, which occupies Upper Garabagh and
7 adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, will deal a blow on the country’s
independence. Permitting soldiers and officers of an arch-foe country
to the sessions in Azerbaijan would mean ignoring the country’s
military interests and diminishing the dignity of Azerbaijani
citizens, the document says. “Allowing Armenian military men to
Azerbaijan, which has given thousands of victims, is an insult to the
Azerbaijani people and is exacerbating the socio-political tensions
in the country.” The exercises, organized under NATO’s Partnership
for Peace program, are scheduled for September 12-26.

Protest actions
The Whole Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan plans to hold a rally in
front of the Narimanov cinema on September 12 in protest against the
Armenian officers’ arrival, the party chairman, MP Gudrat
Hasanguliyev said on Monday.

Nation indignant
He said the party also intends to conduct a march starting outside
school No.20 to proceed to the President’s Office. Hasanguliyev added
that until the occupied Azerbaijani territories are liberated Baku
should not cooperate with Armenia in any way and must prevent the
Armenian officers’ arrival. The Foreign Ministry is negotiating with
NATO representatives in Brussels over the issue. “We are currently in
talks with Brussels and expressing our position to NATO”, Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists. He noted that Azerbaijan
has assumed a number of commitments to NATO and a refusal to admit
Armenian military men to the country may “deal a blow” on the
Azerbaijan-NATO individual cooperation plan.

Appeal to NATO Secretary General
The Garabagh Liberation Organization appealed to NATO Secretary
General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday urging the organization’s
leadership to reject the Armenian officers’ participation in its
military exercises in Baku. The document demands that the training be
held in any other country in order not to cause undesirable incidents
and confrontation between the public and the authorities.