Author: Tigranian Ani

Hundreds of Azerbaijanis in Armenian captivity

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Dec 23 2004

The State Commission on Captives, Hostages and Missing Persons held
its first meeting in a new composition at the Ministry of National
Security on Saturday.

The Commission chairman, Minister Eldar Mahmudov stated that the
commission, in its new format, will be even more active in conveying
to Azerbaijani and international community the facts on violation of
international norms by Armenia, which perpetrated ethnic cleansing,
massacre and vandalism against Azerbaijanis and holds them in
captivity.

Members of the commission said that international organizations are not
providing the needed assistance in searching for Azerbaijani captives
and hostages and pointed out the importance of seeking other ways of
resolving the problem.

The speakers also reaffirmed that up till December 1, 2004, 4,852
Azerbaijanis became missing in the conflict zone, including 54
children, 323 women, and 410 elderly people.

In 1998-2004, 1,360 Azerbaijanis were released from Armenian
captivity, including 166 children, 335 women and 286 elderly people.
The undisputed facts show that at least 783 Azeri citizens, including
18 children, 46 women and 69 elderly people, were taken captive and
hostage by Armenia. However, this was concealed from international
organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC). The list of these people has been compiled based on witness
testimonies of Azerbaijanis released from captivity and those from
other sources.

Most of these people were killed while in Armenian captivity, died
from either torture or diseases, while some of them are still being
withheld in Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories and used
for slave labor.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website:

December 21, 2004

ACNIS Releases Opinion Polls on Armenia’s Political Agenda

Yerevan — The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) today issued the results of both a public survey and a
specialized questionnaire on “Urgent Issues on Armenia’s Political
Agenda,” which involved 2002 citizens and 100 experts from Yerevan and
across Armenia. The poll addressed patterns and priorities in European
integration, Armenia-Diaspora relations and Armenian foreign policy,
as well as education, youth, and minority affairs.

ACNIS founder Raffi Hovannisian greeted the invited guests and public
participants with opening remarks. “This comprehensive survey covers
a broad range of items on the national agenda, and revisits a number
of urgent policy questions broached by ACNIS over the year past. It is
our hope that the findings will provide a solid basis for recording,
evaluating, and interpreting public attitudes in the light of more
specialized opinions,” Hovannisian said.

ACNIS legal and political affairs analyst Stepan Safarian presented the
results on European integration, comparing in detail the conclusions
of the expert and public opinion polls. Accordingly, 64% of citizens
surveyed and 92% of experts are in favor of Armenia’s accession to
the European Union, 11.8% and 7% respectively are not, while 24.2%
and 1% find it difficult to answer. 29.4% of citizens first and
foremost expect improvements in the economic situation from Armenia’s
accession to the European Union, whereas 49% of experts anticipate
the establishment of irreversible democracy. 16.7% of citizens and 3%
of experts look forward to a just resolution of the Karabagh issue,
9.7% and 5% respectively to development of education and science
in accordance with European standards, 8.7% and 6% to a decrease
of corruption, and 7.3% and 14% to raising the level of national
security. 11.9% of respondent citizens and 6% of experts do not
expect anything. 31.3% of citizens view the foreign and domestic
policies pursued by Armenia’s authorities as the major obstacle to
Armenia’s policy of European integration, 29.4% regional conflicts,
and 13.6% the Armenian people’s “mindset.” Among the experts these
figures are 65%, 13%, and 11%, respectively. 16.7% of citizens think
it will take Armenia up to 15 years, 15.6% up to 20, 10.2% up to 25,
and 14.8% up to 50 years, to fulfill the criteria of the European
Union and become its member. Among the relative optimists, 11.1%
think it will take 5 years and 20.8% 10 years. 13% of experts believe
it will take 5 years, 21% 10 years, 10% 15 years, 27% 20 years, 14%
25 years, and 8% 50 years. 9.7% of citizens and 6% of experts predict
that Armenia will never become a member of the European Union. 28.7%
of citizens and 61% of experts are in favor of Turkey’s accession
to the European Union, 52% and 22% are not, while 19.3% and 16%
find it difficult to answer. 30% of surveyed citizens and 8% of
experts are concerned about losing attributes of national identity
and statehood as a result of accession to the European Union. 52.9%
and 87% respectively are not concerned about this.

ACNIS economic and diaspora affairs analyst Hovsep Khurshudian referred
to the poll results on the Armenia-Diaspora agenda. 50.2% of citizens
assert that the potential of the Diaspora has been sufficiently
employed for the establishment and development of Armenia, 23.6%
think it has been employed little, 12.5% very little, 6.9% fully,
just as 1.8% are of the opinion that it has not been employed at
all. Among the experts 14% opine that the potential of Diaspora has
been sufficiently employed, 32% little, 36% very little, 5% fully,
and 5% think it has not been employed at all. Among the broader
public the major expectation from the Diaspora is its work toward
international recognition of the Armenian Genocide (35.1%) and
its making investments in Armenia (27.7%), whereas a plurality of
experts will be satisfied if their compatriots in dispersion simply
remain Armenian (22%) or focus on making investments (22%). Next
on the expert list at 18% is the combining of efforts to facilitate
Armenian membership in the European Union, with another 18% noting the
priority of working toward international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. 3% of citizens and of experts do not have any expectation
of the Diaspora. It is noteworthy that 5% of citizens and 8% of
experts underscore the importance of the Diaspora’s participation in
Armenia’s state administration. 20% of citizens and 16% of experts
are in absolute favor of dual citizenship. Another 42.6% and 44%
respectively favor it on condition that dual citizens also perform
military or alternative service, and that only those who are permanent
residents of Armenia exercise the right to elect and be elected. 24.1%
and 19% are against dual citizenship.

The majority of both citizens (70.5%) and experts (67%) are ill
disposed to Armenia’s dispatch of a 50-member military group to take
part in reconstruction works in Iraq. Only 15.6% of citizens and 24%
of experts are in favor of it, whereas 13.9% and 9% find it difficult
to answer. As for the current stage of the Karabagh peace process,
only 1.6% of citizens and 0% of experts are completely satisfied with
it, 11.4% and 5% are satisfied, 41% and 30% are concerned, while 21%
and 49% are very much concerned. 51.3% of citizens and 38% of experts
are positively disposed toward the fact that European structures are
more frequently referring to the regulation of the Karabagh conflict,
12% and 32% respectively express a negative opinion, 19.3% and 14%
are neither concerned nor satisfied with it, and the rest find it
difficult to answer.

Hranush Kharatian, chairperson of the National and Religious Minorities
Board of the Government of Armenia, offered a comment on what the
figures reveal upon the minorities agenda in Armenia. 69.6% of citizens
and 40% of experts think that sects and other religious minorities
constitute a danger for Armenia. As for the national minorities,
the majority of surveyed citizens and experts reject the notion that
they threaten the republic. 70.5% of citizens and 90% of experts look
favorably upon their compatriot Yezidis, 51.1% and 68% Kurds, 66.4%
and 95% Assyrians, 53.4% and 84% Jews, 71.7% and 97% Greeks, 79% and
86% Russians, 53.9% and 91% Georgians, 65.6% and 97% Germans. 10.8%
of citizens and 3% of experts find signs of danger among the Jewish
community, 7.3% and 3% the Kurds, 6.8% and 1% the Georgians, 2.2% and
0% the Germans, 2.1% and 0% the Yezidis, 0.8% and 8% the Russians. As
for sexual minorities, 61.1% of citizens and 30% of experts do not
accept and are intolerant toward them, 24.3% and 56% do not accept
but are tolerant of them, and only 8.3% and 11% respectively think
it is natural and bear a normal attitude toward them.

In his corollary intervention entitled “Tolerance or Intolerance,”
Avetik Ishkhanian, chairman of Armenia’s Helsinki Committee,
continued the deliberations on the minorities issue by expressing
his satisfaction with the high level of tolerance toward national,
religious, and even sexual minorities, which testifies to the gradual
deepening of progressive views in Armenian society. “Another major
achievement is the public’s precise awareness of its own rights,”
noted Ishkhanian, attaching importance to this trend as a positive
step toward establishment of a civil society.

Nouridjan Manoukian, chief of the Control Department for the Board
of Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education and Science,
presented the survey results on education matters. 4.3% of respondent
citizens and 0% of experts assess Armenia’s current educational system
as gratifying, 42.1% and 11% as good, 47% and 81% as unsatisfactory,
with 6.6% and 8% finding it difficult to answer. 16.6% of citizens
and 4% of experts are concerned about bribery in public schools
and universities, 7.7% and 5% about protectionism, 10.8% and 22%
the content of educational programs, 15.2% and 0% the unjustified
optimalization of schools, and 7.8% and 3% the scale of state financing
for educational institutions and other circumstances.

The pivotal issues for Armenia’s youth have recently assumed a new
appearance and new substance–lack of jobs, insufficient wages, absence
of equal conditions and opportunities for career advancement, and
so on. The poll results on youth concerns are especially alarming,
as the majority of citizens (65.5%) and experts (78%) do not see
a future for young people in Armenia. Only 18% and 13% are of the
opposite opinion, while 16.5% and 9% find it difficult to answer. 33.7%
of citizens view the absence of jobs as the main reason for a lack
of confidence in the future and 26.4% mark insufficient wages for
normal living, whereas the majority of experts (46%) point to the
moral-psychological atmosphere in the country and 27% to unequal
conditions and opportunities for progress and career. As for the
measures to be taken to stop youth emigration and to overcome the
problems they face, 50.7% of citizens and 29% of experts find it
necessary to provide jobs to educated young people through a close
cooperation among universities, enterprises, and organizations, 23.7%
and 24% respectively are for the encouragement of entrepreneurship
among young people through allocation of government loans, and 15.3%
and 24% hold that the educational system should be modernized in
correspondence with the modern demands of the labor market.

The formal presentations were followed by contributions by National
Press Club chairperson Narine Mkrtchian; Artashes Ghazakhetsian of
the Armenia 2020 Project; Anahit Bakhshian, principal of Derenik
Demirchian High School; Ruzan Khachatrian of the People’s Party
of Armenia; Spartak Seyranian of Yerkir weekly; Tamar Gevorgian of
the United Labor Party; Yerevan State University professor Vardan
Khachatrian; Hovhannes Hovhannisian of the Liberal Progressive Party;
former Yerevan mayor Vahagn Khachatrian; Vardan Vardanian of Aib-Fe
weekly; and several others.

Among the 2002 citizens polled, 43.1% of them are male and 56.9%
female; 16.3% are 16-20 years of age, 24.8% 21-30, 21.5% 31-40, 21%
41-50, 9.3% 51-60, 5.5% 61-70, 1.6% 71 or above. 43.9% of participating
citizens have received a higher education, whereas 22.1% incomplete
higher, 17.4% specialized secondary, 14.6% secondary, and 1.9%
incomplete secondary training. 53.6% are actively employed, 19.2%
are not, 5.5% are pensioners, 1.6% welfare recipients, and 20%
students. Urban residents constitute 59.6% of public respondents,
and rural residents make up 40.4%. 33.5% hail from Yerevan, the rest
from all of Armenia’s regions.

All 100 professionals who took part in the specialized poll are
from Yerevan. 73% of them are male, and 27% female; 22% are 21-30
years of age, 29% 31-40, 27% 41-50, 18% 51-60, 4% 61 or above. All
of the experts surveyed have received a higher education: 2% are
full professors, 20% are candidates of science (PhD), and 78% hold a
Master’s degree. The principal profession of 16% of the expert pool
is political science, 13% journalism, 9% engineering and architecture,
9% history, 9% Near Eastern studies, 8% linguistics, 6% economics, 6%
international relations, and so on. 29% of them work in state-run
institutions, 57% in non-governmental associations, and 14% at
international organizations.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
2004, the Center has focused primarily on public outreach, civic
education, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign
policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the Center or the full graphics of the
poll results, call (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46;
e-mail [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit or

Azerbaijan Economy to Grow 14% in 2005 on Oil, President Says

USACC (US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce)
Dec 20 2004

20.12.2004

Azerbaijan’s economy will expand 14 percent in 2005 and at a faster
pace in the following two years as the former Soviet republic triples
oil and natural-gas production, President Ilkham Aliyev said.

The nation of 8.1 million people expects to attract $4 billion in
direct foreign investment next year, accelerating this year’s growth
of 10 percent, Aliyev said. Azerbaijan’s gross domestic product last
year was $7.1 billion, 102nd in the world, above Honduras and below
Botswana, according to the World Bank.

“This mainly reflects the future oil and gas development,” Aliyev,
who turns 43 on Dec. 24, said in an interview in London. “We need
to use this opportunity of having vast oil and gas resources to bring
investment into other sectors.”

Azerbaijan, bordered by Russia and Iran, will benefit from next year’s
scheduled opening of a $3.6 billion pipeline that will carry Caspian
Sea oil from the capital, Baku, to Turkey’s Ceyhan port. A venture led
by London-based BP Plc that includes Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil
Corp. and Norway’s Statoil ASA is developing fields in the region, home
to as much as 4 percent of the world’s proven oil and gas reserves.

Azerbaijan, with reserves of at least 7 billion barrels, has stopped
auctioning offshore fields and is trying to attract companies to
older sites onshore, Aliyev said. Oil production, now at more than 100
million barrels a year, will at least triple in three years, he said.

The country may sell $100 million in bonds in 2005, its first such
sale, Aliyev said.

“We may start next year with some small amount to see what benefit
it brings to the economy,” the president said. “If it’s successful,
we can continue on a larger scale.”

Georgian Security

Kazakhstan officials are talks with Azerbaijan to send crude oil
through the pipeline from Baku, Aliyev said, without being more
specific. The pipeline will ship 1 million barrels a day through
Georgia, where President Mikhail Saakashvili is trying to assert
control over secessionists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia provinces.

“We are sure that the Georgian government will fulfil all its
commitments to security over their portion of the pipeline,” Aliyev
said. A separate pipeline from Baku to Georgia’s Supsa port on the
Black Sea “has been working for years without any problems,” he said.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia, each with a population of about
100,000 people, declared independence in 1992 after the Soviet Union
collapsed. Both maintain ties to Russia. Georgian forces clashed with
South Ossetian separatists in August.

“Georgia and Azerbaijan have similar problems, which are aggressive
separatism,” Aliyev said. Azerbaijan since 1993 has had a dispute
with neighboring Armenia over control of the Nagorno- Karabakh region.
Georgia in February plans to sign a military and economic treaty with
Russia to ease tensions that brought them to the brink of war this
year, Saakashvili said on Nov. 22.

source: Bloomberg

EU and Turkey Reach Historic Agreement
By CONSTANT BRAND

The Associated Press
12/17/04 14:11 EST

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – The European Union and Turkey reached a
historic agreement Friday to begin talks next year aimed at bringing
the populous Muslim nation into the EU after hammering out a compromise
over Ankara’s relationship with Cyprus.

Turkey accepted an offer from the 25 EU leaders during their two-day
summit to begin talks on Oct. 3, 2005, launching a process that could
take years and could transform the political and social landscape of
both parties.

If the talks succeed, Turkey would become the largest EU member, with
a population of 71 million – expected to grow as high as 85 million
by 2020. But its per capita income is roughly one-third of the average
of longtime EU member states, requiring far-reaching economic reforms.

Turkish membership would also add millions of citizens to the EU at a
time when many Europeans are questioning whether their countries, which
have Christian heritage, can absorb large numbers of Muslim immigrants.

Nevertheless, EU leaders hailed the agreement as a historic step,
which would expand the borders of the EU from Ireland to Iran.

“If I think back on today, I believe we can say that we have been
writing history today, and the agreement we reached today will acquire
full significance in the years ahead,” said Dutch Prime Minister Jan
Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the EU presidency.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the decision to accept Turkish
membership shows “that those who believe there is a fundamental clash
of civilizations between Christians and Muslims are actually wrong;
that they can work together; that we can cooperate together.”

During the summit, EU leaders also agreed to start entry talks with
Croatia next March if it hands over an indicted war crimes suspect
to the international tribunal in The Hague.

The leaders also formally closed membership talks with Romania and
Bulgaria, paving the way for them to join in 2007.

But the main attention fell on Turkey. Despite widespread public
misgivings about Turkish membership, the leaders agreed Thursday to
offer Ankara accession talks.

But the deal nearly fell apart because of an EU requirement that
Turkey initial an agreement Friday expanding its customs union with
the EU to include Cyprus and nine other members that joined in May. The
agreement would have to be signed by October.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan balked at the requirement,
which EU diplomats said amounted to tactic recognition of the Greek
Cypriot government.

Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 to block a coup by Greek Cypriots,
and decades of diplomacy have failed to reunite the Mediterranean
island. About 40,000 Turkish troops remain in northern Cyprus, which
is controlled by Turkish Cypriots.

After hours of intensive negotiations, the EU agreed to accept a
statement from Erdogan that he would sign the customs agreement before
the talks start and that the move would not constitute recognition
of Cyprus.

“This is a win-win agreement,” Erdogan said. “We’re at a point where
we reaping the reward of 41 years of work. The process from now on
will be even more difficult … but I strongly believe Turkey will
be able to achieve this.”

EU officials said the talks would be open-ended and without a guarantee
of eventual EU membership.

Nevertheless, the admission of Turkey to the EU is still strongly
opposed in several EU countries, whose citizens fear an influx of
culturally different migrants who would compete for jobs.

French President Jacques Chirac, who has promised a referendum on
Turkish membership if the talks succeed, said the Turks would have to
it would have to accept the mass killings of Armenians in the early
20th century.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said he would also call a
referendum because bringing a Muslim country into the EU “must not
be decided in an ivory tower … We cannot be indifferent about
public opinion.”

Supporters of Turkey’s entry maintain that the country could be a
bridge between Europe and the Middle East and stand as an example of
a democratic state with Islamic traditions. Turkey, a longtime NATO
member, has been legally secular since the collapse of the Ottoman
Empire after World War I.

Associated Press correspondents Suzan Fraser, Raf Casert, Art Max
and Robert Wielaard contributed to this report.

Azeri leader says certain forces interested in spoiling ties with Georgia

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
17 Dec 04

[Presenter] Several hours ago Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived
together with his family at precinct electoral commission No 6 of [Baku’s] Sabayil
district constituency No 29 and cast his vote.

[Passage omitted: reported details]

[Correspondent over video of Ilham Aliyev] The president also touched on the
current situation in the Nagornyy Karabakh peace process. Mr Aliyev said that
a new framework in the dialogue, i.e. the Prague process, was in the best
interests of Azerbaijan.

[Aliyev speaking to journalists] What is the Prague process? To put it
simply, it means a stage-by-stage solution. As you know, Azerbaijan’s position on t
his issue is definite and resolute. I am very glad that the forces engaged in
this issue are moving closer to this position. The stage-by-stage solution is a
way out of this problem. Therefore, the future negotiations should be held
only in this framework. I think if the talks are held constructively and if
Armenia does not abandon the position that has been agreed, as was the case in the
past, then we can reach some agreement.

[Correspondent] The head of state touched on the decision to ban trucks from
crossing the Azerbaijani-Georgian border. He said that representatives of the
two countries’ relevant bodies are continuing their investigation in Tbilisi.
However, Aliyev stressed again that the Baku government will not open the
border until it gets full guarantees that the cargo will not be transported to
Armenia.

[Aliyev] This will not be possible. We have put an end to this. We cannot
allow this at any cost. If a normal working system is created there, all borders
will open, of course. If this does not happen, then the border will remain
closed. We understand that this damages us and Georgia to some extent. But we
have no other way out.

[Correspondent] As for the recent problems of our compatriots in Georgia, the
president described these developments as a provocation aimed at damaging
relations between the two countries.

[Aliyev] It is also a fact that Azerbaijanis living in Georgia are Georgian
citizens. Of course, they should respect Georgian laws. They should not
tolerate infringements of the law or provocation. There are some forces wishing to
deal a blow to relations between Georgia and Azerbaijan. We know who these
forces are. Unfortunately, there are such forces inside Azerbaijan. But these
forces are mainly outside Azerbaijan. We cannot allow the strategic alliance
between Georgia and Azerbaijan to be damaged.

[Correspondent] The president also commented on discussions about Turkey’s
membership of the EU. Turkey should be a full member of the EU, the head of
state said. He added that double standards should not be applied in this issue and
no conditions should be set to the Ankara government.

Etibar Mammadov and Mirtofiq Miralioglu, “Son Xabar”.

U.N. food program to halt food aid for Azeri refugees displaced by war with Armenia
By AIDA SULTANOVA

The Associated Press
12/15/04 15:09 EST

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) – The World Food Program said Wednesday that
it will halt food aid to nearly 140,000 Azeri refugees displaced by
the 1990s conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave by January if the U.N. agency does not receive more assistance.

WFP country director Rahman Chowdhury said the agency had halved
rations for refugees last month in an effort to stretch food
stocks. The WFP faces a US$10 million (euro7.5 million) shortfall
this year, he said, in part due to higher retail prices and rising
gasoline and natural gas prices.

He said only the food aid for 5,300 primary children would continue,
though on a limited basis.

“Most of the displaced are so poor they don’t have the means to buy
food,” Chowdhury said in a statement. “It’s a dreadful situation,
especially in the winter.”

Refugee rights activists said the decision was horrible. Vugar Gadirov,
who heads an Azeri organization looking after the needs of refugees,
said the WFP decision would be a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

“Ending the aid is a harsh blow for these people, many of whom live
in the very worst conditions in tent camps, camps that don’t have
any amenities for living,” Gadirov said.

Government officials declined to comment on the WFP decision.

Most of the displaced live in western regions of Azerbaijan, not far
from Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which ethnic Armenian forces seized
after several years of war in the early 1990s.

A cease-fire was signed in 1994, after 30,000 people were killed and
about 1 million were left homeless.

No agreement has been reached on the territory’s final status, and
the two countries have tense relations.

13 YEARS OF DE FACTO INDEPENDENCE

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
15 Dec 04

13 years ago, on December 10, 1991 a referendum was held in Nagorni
Karabakh and 99.98 per cent voted for independence of NKR. On December
28 the election to the Supreme Council took place in Stepanakert under
the bombs of the Azerbaijani army. On January 6, 1992 the NKR
legislative body adopted the Declaration of State Independence of NKR
based upon the right for self-determination and the will of the people
of Nagorni Karabakh. On the same day the members of parliament
extended messages to the UN, countries of the world appealing them to
recognize NKR and prevent another genocide in Artsakh. On January 8
the Supreme Council chose its first speaker, 32-years-old Artur
Mkrtichian. These events were preceded by the law on dissolution of
the Autonomous Region of Nagorni Karabakh adopted by the Supreme
Council of Azerbaijan by which NKAR was dissolved as an ethnic and
territorial unit and the NK districts obeyed thenew administrative
centers. By its November 28, 1991 decision the USSR Committee on
Constitutional Control condemned the action of Azerbaijan as a
violation ofthe status of NKAR maintained by the Constitution of the
USSR. One of the active participants of the Karabakh movement, member
of parliament Maxim Mirzoyan claims that the national liberation
movement of the Armenians of Nagorni Karabakh turned into an open
confrontation and then a war due to Baku. `However, fortune favoured
the fair decision of the people of Artsakh who by their heroism and
stoicism managed to eliminate the danger of physical extermination and
step on the way of fulfilment of their right for self-determination
based on the basic international norms,’ told Maxim Mirzoyan to the
reporter of`Regnum’.

AA.
15-12-2004

Three Armenian theaters to perform at next festival

Yerkir/arm
December 10, 2004

Back in January, 2004 Ministries of Culture of Armenia and Syria
signed an agreement on cultural collaboration, which implies not only
organization of mutual cultural events in both countries but also
interaction in many cultural fields.

This year Syria has organized days of the Armenian culture. In frames
of the same agreement, the Armenian Edgar Elbakian theater toured in
Damascus during a festival this year.

Razmik Abrahamian of the Ministry on Culture says that the Armenian
theater greatly impressed the Syrian spectators with a two-hour
performance of Fridrich Dyurenmath’s `Last waltz.’ The performance was
followed by long applauds.

The festival had been suspended for 16 years and restarted after
4-hour talks of the director and president. The raised funds went to
the government. Our actors highly praised the level of organization of
the overall event.

Although the festival did not foresee any prizes, several actors,
including Armenian Vladimir Msrian, were given respect ceremonies.
The Armenian performance was so appreciated that the next year three
theaters will be invited.

A the end of the interview, Razmik Abrahamian said that unlike
previous years, when the Armenian community of Syria was gathered only
around the church, now you can feel the presence of the Armenian
state.

Glendale News Press
LATimes.com
Dec 13 2004

Red Cross is now in three new languages

The organization’s local chapter added Armenian, Korean and Spanish
versions on its website; use increasing already.

By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader

SOUTHWEST GLENDALE – Now it’s a lot easier for some to surf the
website for the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red
Cross.

In late October, the emergency organization completed an update to
its website allowing users to peruse certain pages in Armenian,
Korean and Spanish.

Officials say the website’s popularity has taken off, noting that
there has been a 20% increase of visits to the site.

“The Red Cross’ mission is to help people prepare for and cope with
emergency,” said Ron Farina, the chapter’s executive director. “With
a multiethnic community like Glendale, it’s essential that we are
able to communicate in all ways possible. And one of the key ways is
with a website.”

About two years ago, the organization hired Browne Global Solutions,
a company that specializes in translation, to add the three minority
languages most present in the city on the website. People can click a
button and access main pages on the site.

Two months ago, the company also updated the website’s “Together We
Prepare” section, which includes directions on how to prepare a home
or workplace for disaster. It also lists where to donate blood.

“The Red Cross wants to reach out and be of service to these
individuals in the community so they know they are important to us,”
Farina said.

Armenians in the community would normally avoid using the website
because they are not fluent in English, said Alina Azizian, the
executive director Armenian National Committee’s Glendale chapter.

But to have the website translated into Armenian makes it more
accessible to them.

“[The Red Cross] is really reaching out to the community, and in this
community, there are a lot of Armenians,” Azizian said. “I think a
lot of people will feel less alienated to the organization [because
of this].”

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Dec 10 2004

Next Frontline Monitoring to Be Held in Geranboy

OSCE representatives will hold the next monitoring on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani frontline on December 10 in Bosunlu village,
Azeri Geranboy region.

Defence Ministry’s press office reports that on the Azeri side
monitoring will be held by Imre Palatinus and Peter Kay, field
assistants of personal representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office, and
on the Armenian side by Andrzej Kasprzyk, personal representative of
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, and his field assistants Miroslav Vymetal
and Alexander Samarskii.