Author: Toganian Liana

ARAYIK PETROSIAN APPOINTED FIRST DEPUTY MINISTER OF LABOR AND SOCIAL ISSUES

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, NOYAN TAPAN. Under the decision of the RA Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian, Ashot Esayan was releived of his post as
First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Issues of the RA. Arayik
Petrosian was relieved of his post as Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Issues and appointed as First Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Issues of the RA. According to the RA Government Information and
PR Department, under another decision of the Armenian Prime Minister,
Arstvik Minasian was appointed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social
Issues of the RA. A. Minasian was born on January 1, 1972, in the
village of Vosketas (Talin region). In 1995, A. Minasian graduated
from the department of economics of Yerevan State University (YSU)
receiving the qualification of an economist-mathematician, and
in 2001 – from the law department of ESU as a lawyer. Since 1997,
A. Minasian has attended the courses of the International Institute
of the US Securities Commission, Moscow State University and the
United Institute of Vienna. Since 1999, A. Minasian has worked as a
lecturer at the department of economics of YSU, since 2004 – at Yerevan
State Economic Institute. In 1996-1998, A. Minasian worked at the RA
Ministry of Finance and Economy: as an expert of the Securities Market
Regulation Inspection, as the head of the Securities Market Regulation
and Methodology Department, as the head of the Inspection of Securities
and Exchanges. In 1999-2000, held the post of Deputy Head of the RA
Securities Market’s Inspection. Since 2000 until the abovementioned
appointment, A. Minasian has been a member of the RA Securities
Commission, participated in a number of internatinal conferences,
is the author of over ten scientific publications. A. Minasian is a
Candidate of Economics. Nonpartisan. Married, has three

Azerbaijan set to agree accepting US bases – Russian daily

BBC Monitoring Caucasus
9 August 2005

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow, in Russian, 3 August 05, p 1, 5

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s three-day visit to
Washington has probably to do mostly with the talks on the future
deployment of US bases in Azerbaijan, the Russian daily has suggested.
It said that Uzbekistan’s decision to close the US base strengthened
Azerbaijan’s positions in these talks as President Ilham Aliyev could
now demand the lessening of pressure on his government ahead of the
November parliamentary elections. The following is a text of report by
Sohbat Mammadov and Anatoliy Gordiyenko in Russian newspaper
Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 3 August headlined “US bases will strengthen
Ilham Aliyev’s position. Pentagon set to transfer its aircraft from
Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan”; subheadings as published:

After several years of hesitation, official Baku is nevertheless
inclined to site US military bases on Azerbaijani territory.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta has been told by an informed source in Azerbaijani
security structures that several dozen US military instructors are
already working in Azerbaijan, without advertising their presence.
They have identified two facilities for future bases: one on the
Abseron peninsula, a 30-minute drive from Baku, and the other in the
south of the republic, near the border with Iran.

Gift From Karimov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s three-day visit to
the US, which ends today [1-3 August], has every chance of being
epochal in resolving this tricky issue for Baku. Moreover, strange
though it may seem, Uzbek President Islom Karimov has played an
important role in expediting the US-Azerbaijani accords. By demanding
that the USA’s Qarshi-Xonobod airbase, which the USA has been actively
using since autumn 2001 in order to support its antiterrorist
operation in Afghanistan, be removed from Uzbekistan’s territory
within 180 days, Karimov has forced the Pentagon to hastily seek
another springboard and a new, more reliable and predictable ally.

Not necessarily in Central Asia, but at least nearby. Everything
points to Azerbaijan becoming that ally. In the light of this, Islom
Karimov has unwittingly given a downright lavish gift to his
Azerbaijani colleague Ilham Aliyev by seriously strengthening his
position in the long-standing bargaining with the Americans.

As is well known, Washington has long been pushing the idea of
deploying a military base in Azerbaijan. There remains a minor detail
– a political decision by President Aliyev to give the green light for
implementation of the idea. An informed source in circles close to the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has told Nezavisimaya Gazeta on condition
that he remain anonymous that the involvement of Mammadyarov in
discussing this issue “could signify that the problem is switching to
the political dimension”.

In the source’s opinion, the situation is that “the political decision
required by Washington is practically ripe, and President Aliyev will
eventually agree to deploying a US military contingent in the
country.” But not just for the sake of it, but in exchange for a
lessening of US pressure on Aliyev over very sensitive issues for him
concerning the observance of democratic standards in the forthcoming
November parliamentary election.

Wide Range of Issues and Secret Mission

Admittedly, officially Baku is insisting that Elmar Mammadyarov, who
hastily travelled across the ocean 1 August after an unscheduled
invitation from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is discussing
in Washington “the widest range of issues, including the present
status of the peace talks on settling the Karabakh conflict, regional
problems, the development of interstate relations, and, finally, the
forthcoming parliamentary election in Azerbaijan”.

However, most local analysts note that official information about the
visit carefully glosses over the point in the schedule of meetings
relating to Elmar Mammadyarov’s talks with the Pentagon leadership.
However, analysts believe, the main subject of these talks will be not
only general prospects for military cooperation between the two
countries, but also an extremely specific issue – the possibility of
transferring the US airbase from Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan. Evidence in
favour of this theory is the fact that US Defence Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld is expected to pay another working visit to Baku in the next
few days.

However, as before the previous visits to Baku by the Pentagon boss,
Ramiz Malikov, head of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry’s press
service, is stating that he “possesses no such information”. Touching
on the prospects of the US military base being transferred from
Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan, the head of the press service again confined
himself to a routine remark: Decisions of this kind, he said, are made
by the country’s political leadership, not the military
department. Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov also
essentially gave the same answer, telling journalists that Washington
“has not yet made any” such proposal to official Baku.

But this is not entirely true. During his “quiet and low-profile”
visit back in April at Baku’s Bina airport Rumsfeld closely discussed
the subject of an American military presence in Abseron with his
Azerbaijani counterpart, Safar Abiyev. It was clear even then that the
Pentagon has very specific plans in this regard. Experts from
Stratfor, the American-Israeli centre for strategic forecasts, claimed
at the time that during the initial stage the US military contingent
in Azerbaijan would act as “temporarily stationed mobile forces”. They
even named three local airbases where US fliers will be stationed –
Kurdamir [central Azerbaijan], Nasosnyy and Qala [both near Baku]. The
airstrips there have been modernized in good time to NATO standards
and are now capable of taking all types of aircraft.

According to Stratfor’s forecasters, the US bases in Azerbaijan will
be small, and it is planned to change their contingent “according to
US military needs in the region”. According to the Pentagon’s plans,
the centre’s experts noted, these forces “can be swiftly redeployed
elsewhere to fulfil a task…[ellipsis as published] and will be
capable of handling several strategic missions”.

Uzeir Cafarov, an authoritative independent military expert in Baku,
believes that the issue of these mobile forces is now being studied in
detail in the Azerbaijani foreign minister’s talks at the Pentagon.
“Until now the Azerbaijani leadership has managed by various means to
avoid giving a specific answer to this proposal from Washington. But
Tashkent’s anti-US demarche is clearly spurring both sides to make
urgent decisions,” Uzeir Cafarov has told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. In his
view, “during the first stage the Americans could transfer to Baku
their Qarshi-Xonobod airbase or part of it in the form of mobile
groups and thereby really make Azerbaijan an important Pentagon
bridgehead in the Afghan campaign”.

The likelihood of this development confirms that Azerbaijan has long
been part of the coalition for the antiterrorist operation in
Afghanistan. Admittedly, today this participation is confined to two
spheres: Azerbaijan has allowed its Qala airfield near Baku to be used
to refuel military aircraft transporting coalition humanitarian
freight to Afghanistan, and then sent a squad of its servicemen to
maintain order in Kabul.

TRIAL OF TURKISH SCHOLAR POSTPONED TILL AUGUST 12

09.08.2005 07:08

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The trial on the case of Turkish scholar Yektan
Turkyilmaz, indicted in smuggling, is postponed till August 12. The
time is provided to the new advocate to get familiar with the case
materials. It should be reminded that passenger of Yerevan-Istanbul
flight, Turkish citizen Yektan Turkyilmaz was taken into custody at
Zvartnots Armenian airport. 88 books of 17-20 centuries were
discovered in his luggage and license was necessary to take 7 books
out of the country, while he did not have it. Yektan Turkyilmaz is
Istanbul resident and is a Duke University (North Carolina) Ph.D. His
«interest»toward the culture of Armenia is diverse. He tried to take
away medical books and literature, as well as books on history,
geography and the formation of traditional parties in Armenia. In case
of being recognized guilty, the Turkish scholar will face 4-8 years of
imprisonment. The trial started today.

ArmenPress
Aug 8 2005

HEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL STAFF MEETS CHINESE DEPUTY FM

YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS: Head of the Armenian presidential
staff, the co-chairman of the Armenian-Chinese inter-governmental
commission Artashes Tumanian met today with Chinese deputy foreign
affairs minister Chao Tsumkhua.
Armenian presidential press service said during the meeting A.
Tumanian said Armenia pays great attention to boosting the
Armenian-Chinese relations. The sides noted that bilateral relations
are developing quite dynamically and are based on high-level
political dialogue and mutual understanding.
They said the visit of the Armenian president to China in
September, 2004 has promoted the development of bilateral relations.
Saying that Armenian-Chinese relations have great future, the sides
underscored the work of the inter-governmental commission the next
session of which will take place in fall in Beijing. They noted that
in some spheres of economy they have already been implementing a set
of joint programs.

Russia’s turning Muslim, says mufti

The Australian
06 August 2005

MOSCOW: Russia’s leading Muslim cleric has alarmed Orthodox Church
leaders and nationalists by claiming the country has 23million Muslims,
3 million more than previously believed.

According to the last census, three years ago, about 14.5 million of
Russia’s 144 million people were ethnic Muslims. Religious leaders
have put the number at nearer 20 million.

But the leader of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gaynutdin,
said this week the number of ethnic Muslims was 23million and rising.

“They are indigenous residents of our country, not migrants or
immigrants, and have been living here from time immemorial,” the
mufti told a meeting of the European Union of Muslims. “The number
of people professing Islam in Russia is constantly growing.”

Russia is home to an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslim migrants
from the former Soviet states — about 2 million Azeris, a million
Kazakhs and several hundred thousand Uzbeks, Tajiks and Kyrgyz.

Some Russians are also converting to Islam, according to Sheik Farid
Asadullin, of the Moscow Council of Muftis.

“Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians, mostly young and intelligent,
see in Islam an answer to their questions,” he said.

Islam was controlled in the Soviet Union, which had only 500 mosques,
but has had a renaissance since 1991, helped by funds from the Middle
East. Russia now has about 5000 mosques.

The rise in the Muslim population has raised fears among Orthodox
Church leaders and nationalists that Russia could eventually become a
Muslim-majority nation. The church claims to have 80million followers,
but religious experts say the number is closer to 40 million and
is falling.

Russia’s population is declining, due in part to high alcohol
consumption, but numbers are rising in Muslim regions, where large
families are common and alcohol consumption is moderate.

Russia’s population dropped by 401,200 in the first half of this year,
but rose in 15 regions, including the Muslim republics of Chechnya,
Dagestan and Ingushetia. The statistics agency said the average
birth rate was 1.8 in Dagestan, compared with 1.3 for Russia overall,
while male life expectancy was 68 in Dagestan, against 58 for Russia.

Aleksei Malashenko, a local expert on Islam, said: “The real problem
is the crisis of the Russian population, not the increase of the
Muslim population. And the church is not as powerful or significant
for Russians as Islam is for Muslims. This doesn’t mean Russia will
be a Muslim society in several years, although maybe in half a century
we’ll see something surprising.”

In the short term, the trend was likely to affect only the North
Caucasus, where the proportion of ethnic Russians was dropping rapidly,
and Moscow, where the proportion of Muslims was rising.

Russian forces have been fighting Chechen rebels for more than a
decade and the bloodshed is now spilling into neighbouring republics
and radicalising many young Muslims.

Moscow, a regular target for Chechen terrorists, has an estimated
1.5 million Muslims, including about 100,000 Chechens.

,5942,16167042,00.html

ACLU Urges Supreme Court to Review Case of FBI Whistleblower

eandFree.cfm?ID=18880&c=206

August 4, 2005

Vanity Fair Profile Reveals New Facts About FBI’s Termination of Former
Translator Sibel Edmonds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]

Sibel Edmonds addressed the press in Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the
U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s dismissal of the case of
Sibel Edmonds, a former FBI translator who was fired in retaliation
for reporting security breaches and possible espionage within the
Bureau. Lower courts dismissed the case when former Attorney General
John Ashcroft invoked the rarely used “state secrets” privilege.

The Court created the so-called state secrets privilege more than 50
years ago but has not considered it since. The need for clarification
of the doctrine is acute, the ACLU said, because the government is
increasingly using the privilege to cover up its own wrongdoing and
to keep legitimate cases out of court.

“Edmonds’ case is not an isolated incident,” said ACLU Associate Legal
Director Ann Beeson. “The federal government is routinely retaliating
against government employees who uncover weaknesses in our ability
to prevent terrorist attacks or protect public safety.”

The states secrets privilege, Beeson said, “should be used a shield
for sensitive evidence, not a sword the government can use at will to
cut off argument in a case before the evidence can be presented. We are
urging the Supreme Court, which has not directly addressed this issue
in 50 years, to rein in the government’s misuse of this privilege.”

The ACLU is also asking the Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. appeals
court’s decision to exclude the press and public from the court hearing
of Edmonds’ case in April. The appeals court closed the hearing at
the eleventh hour without any specific findings that secrecy was
necessary. In fact, the government had agreed to argue the case
in public. A media consortium that included The New York Times ,
The Washington Post , and CNN intervened in the case to object to
the closure.

Edmonds, a former Middle Eastern language specialist hired by the FBI
shortly after 9/11, was fired in 2002 and filed a lawsuit later that
year challenging the retaliatory dismissal.

Her ordeal is highlighted in a 10-page article about whistleblowers
in the September 2005 issue of Vanity Fair which links Edmonds’
allegations and the subsequent retaliation to possible “illicit
activity involving Turkish nationals” and a high-level member of
Congress. The ACLU said the article, titled “An Inconvenient Patriot,”
further undercuts the government’s claim that the case can’t be
litigated because certain information is secret.

In addition, a report by the Inspector General, made public in
January 2005, contains a tremendous amount of detail about Edmonds’
job, the structure of the FBI translation unit , and the substance
of her allegations. The report concluded that Edmonds’ whistleblower
allegations were “the most significant factor” in the FBI’s decision
to terminate her.

The outcome in Edmonds’ case could significantly impact the
government’s ability to rely on secrecy to avoid accountability in
future cases, the ACLU said, including one pending case charging the
government with “rendering” detainees to be tortured.

In the 1953 Supreme Court case that was the basis for today’s
state secrets privilege doctrine, United States v. Reynolds,
the government claimed that disclosing a military flight accident
report would jeopardize secret military equipment and harm national
security. Nearly 50 years later, in 2004, the truth came out: the
accident report contained no state secrets, but instead confirmed
that the cause of the crash was faulty maintenance of the B-29 fleet.

Fourteen 9/11 family member advocacy groups and public interest
organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Edmonds
‘ case before the District Court, and many are expected to join an
amicus brief next month supporting Supreme Court review of the case,
including the National Security Archive.

Edmonds is represented by Beeson, Melissa Goodman, and Ben Wizner of
the national ACLU; Art Spitzer of the ACLU of the National Capital
Area; and Mark Zaid, of Krieger and Zaid, PLLC.

The ACLU’s Supreme Court cert petition is online at:
;c=24

The appendix for the Supreme Court cert petition is online at:
.cfm?ID=18872&c=24

Further information on the case, including other legal documents
and a backgrounder on the state secrets privilege, is online at :

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 This is the
Web site of the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation.

Learn more about the distinction between these two components of
the ACLU.

–Boundary_(ID_sG9dotpl8QDejHJuAtW3oA)–

Azeri Foreign Minister Meets US Secretary of State

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
Aug 3 2005

Baku Today

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov who is in Washington
on a three-day official visit, met with US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday.

The parties exchanged views on the role of the United States, as a
co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, in the settlement of the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, Caspian energy
projects, the current situation in the Caucasus region, as well as
preparations for Azerbaijan’s November parliament elections.

While in Washington, Mammadyarov will hold meetings in the Pentagon
and National Security Council. He will also meet with representatives
of the National Democratic Institute, International Republican
Institute, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and
non-governmental organizations.

The Minister will also address members of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber
of Commerce in the Washington based Azerbaijan Trade and Cultural
Center on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Mammadyarov will deliver a speech at the US Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.

Ten future stars to follow
Monday, 1 August 2005
By Andrew Haslam

A number of players made a real impact at the UEFA European Under-19
Championship finals in Northern Ireland, perhaps signalling the start
of a promising international career. uefa.com picks out ten who have
caught the eye and could be ready shine on the senior stage before
too long.

Abdoulaye Balde, France

The Amiens SC striker was a constant threat to opposition defenders
with his pace and power, racing clear to score against England in
the opening game of the tournament and striking twice more in the
semi-final win against Germany. Having scored seven league goals in
15 matches in 2004/05, his tournament finished with one goal and one
assist in the final victory against England.

Edel Bete, Armenia

The Armenian goalkeeper produced a superlative display in the 1-1 draw
with England on Matchday 2, save after save keeping the attackers at
bay and earning his side an unexpected point. A confident shot-stopper
who dominates the penalty area and is an assured presence between
the posts.

Vassiriki Diaby, France

Similar in stature to Patrick Vieira, the AJ Auxerre midfield player
exudes equal authority in the centre of the pitch. Athletic and
powerful, his drive and ambition, allied to tireless energy and
relentless work-rate, was never more in evidence than in the final
as he spurred his side on again and again.

Matthew Fryatt, England

The Walsall FC striker’s finest moment came in the 3-1 semi-final
victory against Serbia and Montenegro, his blistering pace and
predatory instincts bringing him an impressive hat-trick. Also on
target in the group-stage draw with France, defences were caused no
end of problems by his movement and energy.

Stylianos Iliadis, Greece

In an ultimately disappointing Greek campaign, their captain was a
lively presence who never lost heart. Always prompting thoughtfully
from midfield, his commitment and work-rate made him his side’s most
consistently impressive performer.

Grant Leadbitter, England

Despite his late red card in the final, the Sunderland AFC midfield
player gave ample evidence of his ability. Strong and fearless tackler,
his commitment and never-say-die attitude is allied to exceptional
vision and fine passing ability.

Karim Aoudia, Norway

The Norwegian midfield player was his side’s most regular goalscoring
threat, timing his runs forward to arrive in the penalty area at
exactly the moment. Aoudia scored Norway’s first goal of the finals
in the 2-0 victory against Armenia on the opening day, and was on
target again against England, although that match ended in defeat
and elimination for the Scandinavian side.

Eugen Polanski, Germany

The German captain led by example, driving forward from midfield at
every opportunity and working tirelessly to win back possession when
play broke down. At the heart of everything good about the German
side, he found the net against Serbia and Montenegro and Greece and
his free-kick for Kevin-Prince Boateng’s late goal almost inspired
a dramatic fightback in the semi-final loss to France.

Thomas Stewart, Northern Ireland

Came close to earning the tournament hosts a point in their opening
fixture against Greece when his shot was cleared at the last as
it rolled towards the net. Energetic and prominent throughout, he
finally found the target in added time against Germany on Matchday 3 –
the very least Northern Ireland deserved for three displays full of
effort and endeavour.

Borko Veselinovic, Serbia and Montenegro

Until injury curtailed his semi-final appearance against England,
the Serbo-Montenegrin captain was his side’s best player. Scored
twice against both Germany and Greece and got the only goal against
the Northern Irish in the group stage, Veselinovic showed composure,
confidence and a cool head in front of goal.

LEADING RUSSIAN POLITICIAN THINKS COVERAGE OF TOPIC OF ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE OF 1915 IN OTTOMAN TURKEY POOR

KRASNODAR, JULY 29. ARMINFO. The topic of Armenian Genocide in Russia
is not covered today, says Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party
“Yabloko” Sergey Mitrokhin in his interview to the newspaper of the
Armenians of Russia “Yerkramas.”

According to the source, Mitrokhin thinks “Yabloko” the only party to
adopt a special statement in connection with the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide. He says “Yabloko” was an active supporter of
adoption of a relevant statement on Genocide by the State Duma in
1995. Then a member of the State Duma Committee for CIS, he personally
was among those to pushed through this document. Once Russian
announced its position on the issue of Armenian Genocide in Turkey,
but it was the former authorities, now the power has changed, and we
have not heard anything on this issue from the current authorities so
far. I think it is very dangerous, not speaking of humanistic
ideas. Proceeding from political pragmatism, Armenia at present is the
most friendly country for Russia in the CIS, and among the states
surrounding it. And for such a country, of course, it is necessary to
make steps it is waiting for. And the president could have said
several words in this connection, at last, he has unlimited
opportunities now, Mitrokhin thinks.

He condemns lack of information of the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust
in the history textbooks in Russia, calling it degradation in
education in Russia.

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
July 28 2005

Russia withdrawing equipment from Batumi military base

RBC, 28.07.2005, Moscow 14:57:01.Today Russia started to
withdraw military equipment from the Russian military base in Batumi
in compliance with the agreement signed between Russia and Georgia.
According to Vladimir Kuparadze, commander of the Group of Russian
Armed Forces in the Transcaucasia, the first column includes 10
command and staff vehicles. The column escorted by Georgian
representatives will proceed from Batumi to Mtskhet today.

In addition, Kuparadze said that on August 4-5, 2005, military
equipment would be shipped from the Russian military bases stationed
in Batumi and Akhalkalaki (Georgia) to the 102nd military base in
Gyumri (Armenia), in compliance with the equipping plan.