Author: Toneyan Mark

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan Plot Expansion of BTC to Carry Kashagan Crude

Global Insight Perspective

World Markets Research Centre (WMRC) Daily Analysis
19 April 2005

By Andrew Neff

Significance

The heads of SOCAR and Kazmunaigaz have
voiced their support for a plan that would see the
1-million-b/d-capacity BTC pipeline expanded to 1.7
million b/d in order to serve as the main export
conduit for oil produced from the Kashagan field in
the Kazakh sector of the northern Caspian Sea.
Implications The plan would also entail a 700-km
pipeline link between the Kazakh port of Atyrau and
Baku, which – while solving Kazakhstan’s problem of
finding an outlet for the voluminous quantities of oil
to be extracted from Kashagan – will likely run into
environmental opposition from Iran and Russia,
especially in lieu of a multilateral agreement on the
division of the Caspian.

Outlook

In addition to the likely roadblock that
Russia and Iran present in opposing subsea pipelines,
there are a number of hurdles to implementing the
Kazakh-Azeri plan, including the issue of transit
tariffs and the participation of the BTC and Kashagan
stakeholder groups.

Expanding Co-Operation and Pipelines

Until now, talk of linking future Kazakh oil
production with the soon-to-be-operational BTC
pipeline, running 1,760 km from Azerbaijan to Turkey
(see ‘Related Articles’ below), was mainly limited to
government circles. Moreover, the talks focused on
securing somewhere in the region of 100,000 to 200,000
b/d of Kazakh oil output to pump via the
US$3.6-billion pipeline, with the emphasis on boosting
its utilisation in the initial years to improve its
profitability. The Azerbaijan International Operating
Company (AIOC)’s development plan for the
Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) structure has left
available space in the pipeline until at least 2008.
Azeri government officials, knowing this and bolstered
by political support from the US government, courted
the Kazakh government to provide incremental oil to
supplement the BTC.

The Kazakh government has long been coy when it comes
to pipelines and the direction of exports for its
anticipated future oil boom. While attempting to
assuage Azeri and US policymakers, the Central Asian
republic has quietly continued to pursue additional
export opportunities, including expansion of the
Tengiz-Novorossiisk pipeline to Russia, a
trans-Kazakhstan pipeline to China, and even oil swaps
with Iran. The ‘western’ route for Kazakh oil via the
BTC was never really in doubt, but then it was never
really viewed as the ‘main export pipeline’ for Kazakh
producers either.

While Kazakh and Azeri authorities have continued to
try to hammer out an agreement on transit tariffs via
the BTC to ensure it carries some Kazakh oil when it
comes online later this year, the current discussions
between SOCAR and Kazmunaigaz,
the national oil and gas companies of Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan, respectively,
appear to give greater emphasis to Kazakh oil in the
pipeline. With the shift from the political to the
commercial arena, officials from both companies
confirmed that they are discussing a plan that would
entail a much larger volume of Kazakh oil – mainly
from the elephantine Kashagan field in the shallow
waters of the north Caspian – to flow to western
markets via the BTC. Furthermore, the plan under
consideration would see an actual 700-km pipeline laid
across the Sea, linking the Kazakh port of Atyrau with
Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, and an expansion of the
BTC to handle 1.7 million b/d.

BTC Shareholders

Company Share
BP 30.1%
SOCAR 25%
ChevronTexaco 8.9%
Statoil 8.71%
TPAO 6.53%
Total 5%
Eni/Agip 5%
Itochu 3.4%
ConocoPhillips 2.5%
Inpex 2.5%
Amerada Hess 2.36%

Shifting Commercial Winds

Previous discussions between Azeri and Kazakh
authorities envisioned a barge system of
transportation, carrying Kazakh oil across the Caspian
to be reloaded and exported via the BTC, with the
capacity of the controversial pipeline slated to
remain at 1 million b/d. So what has changed? Although
the political winds of change that have swept across
other former Soviet States have not hit Kazakhstan and
Azerbaijan, the commercial winds have shifted recently
in the two Caspian littoral states, perhaps altering
the outlook for greater trans-Caspian co-operation in
an oil transport system.

To begin with, Kazmunaigaz, after much protracted
discussion with Eni and the other Western oil
companies in the Agip North Caspian Operating Company
(Agip KCO), has finally secured its stake in the
development of the Kashagan field. BG Group’s 16.67%
stake in the field will be split, with Kazmunaigaz
gaining an 8.33% stake while five of the international
oil companies (IOCs) share out the remaining 8.33%.
The agreement allows the government, through
Kazmunaigaz, to ensure a direct state role in the
development of the country’s largest oil project.
Kashagan has estimated recoverable oil reserves of 7
to 9 billion barrels, and is expected to produce 1.2
million b/d of oil by 2016 at its peak.

Shortly thereafter, US supermajor ChevronTexaco, which
is the largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan,
announced its plan to acquire Unocal for US$18
billion. The acquisition will allow ChevronTexaco to
take on Unocal’s stake in both the AIOC and the BTC
consortium, giving the supermajor a timely pick-up as
AIOC begins ramping up production in advance of the
BTC’s commissioning. While not a stakeholder in Agip
KCO, ChevronTexaco is the operator of the
Tengizchevroil (TCO) consortium in western Kazakhstan,
and the fight over the expansion of the Caspian
Pipeline Consortium (CPC)’s Tengiz-Novorossiisk
pipeline has raised serious concerns for
ChevronTexaco’s ability to export its future output
from that project. Hence, the acquisition of Unocal
and its BTC stake gives the number-two US oil company
a measure of export security for its Tengiz output.
The decision by ExxonMobil and Devon Energy not to
export their share of AIOC oil via the BTC will free
up additional space in that pipeline, which
ChevronTexaco may be keen to secure for itself.

Outlook and Implications

Before contractors begin putting together proposals
for contracts to expand the BTC and construct a subsea
pipeline linking it with Atyrau, however, it should be
noted that a number of potential obstacles remain.
Firstly, there is still no firm guarantee from the
Kazakh government or Kazmunaigaz on the volume of oil
to be transported. SOCAR president Natiq Aliyev said
that, as of 2010, Kazakhstan would be transporting
500,000 b/d of oil from the Kashagan field via the
BTC, rising to 1-million b/d at peak production.
However, Kazmunaigaz’s managing director Kairgeldy
Kabyldin was notably less enthusiastic, although he
promised that an agreement would be signed by
September. Still, several previous timelines for
inking a Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan oil export/transport
agreement have lapsed.

Secondly, even a political agreement between the
Kazakh and Azeri governments likely will not be
sufficient to construct a subsea pipeline linking
Atyrau and Baku. In the absence of a multilateral
agreement on the division of the Caspian Sea and
clarification of its legal status, both the Iranian
and Russian governments have raised objections to
subsea oil and gas pipelines via the Caspian in the
past, ostensibly on environmental grounds. Russia’s
environmental objections ring hollow, however, as gas
giant Gazprom has already laid a gas pipeline across
the Black Sea and plans to lay another subsea pipeline
in the Baltic. Rather, environmental concerns mask the
true nature of Russian and Iranian disagreements over
trans-Caspian pipelines – the loss of oil and gas
transit revenue and corresponding influence. A
Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan pipeline link would deny both
Russia and Iran the chance to reap oil transit
revenues from Kazakh oil exports, as well as (at least
in the mind of Russian and Iranian policymakers) serve
as a de facto victory for the US government in the
‘Great Game’ of Caspian pipelines. Thus, united
Russian and Iranian opposition may derail any
potential Atyrau-Baku link – at least until the
Caspian littoral states agree on the division of the
Sea’s resources.

Thirdly, the expansion of the BTC and the inclusion of
Kashagan oil via the pipeline will require consent
from the stakeholders in both consortia. BTC
stakeholders – four of which are also Kashagan
shareholders (representing 15% of BTC’s ownership) –
may not have the stomach for additional investment in
the pipeline at this time after the cost overruns,
environmental headaches, and human rights
controversies that have surrounded the BTC thus far.
For their part, Kashagan shareholders (aside from
Kazmunaigaz at least) may not be so keen on mixing
their oil with Azeri Light via the BTC.

Given the questions surrounding alternative export
pipelines and the risks involved in relying on Russia
and China as markets, however, the Agip KCO consortium
members may look more favourably on the BTC transport
route, especially if they are able to secure transit
tariffs equivalent to BTC shareholders. Considering
that the main problems of building the BTC have
already been dealt with, BTC stakeholders may also see
the addition of Kashagan oil and the necessary
expansion of the pipeline as beneficial, as the
expansion of capacity on the BTC will be a relatively
simple affair of adding pumping stations.
Nevertheless, with the legal status of the Caspian
still in doubt and the BTC still not yet operational,
there are serious obstacles still to overcome to
expand the BTC and connect it to Atyrau; Kazmunaigaz
and SOCAR may have to wait to cross that Caspian
bridge when they come to it.

THE INTERCHURCH MOVEMENT SUPPORTS THE RIGHTS OF THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE

A1plus
| 17:21:42 | 22-04-2005 | Official |

In connection with the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide the
Middle East Church Council by means of its Secretary General has sent
a letter to the Catholicos Aram I. They have stressed the necessity
of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and supported the fair rights
of the Armenian Nation.

The World Church Council also in its announcement made inconnection
with the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide stresses the
historical reality of the Armenian Genocide and the necessity for
Turkey to recognize it.

BUNDESTAG TO DISCUSS RESOLUTION ON MASS SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS TODAY

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 05:18

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ German Bundestag will today discuss the Resolution
on Deportation and Mass Slaughter of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
in 1915. As reported by German media, the document notes that some
1.2-1.5 million Armenians were killed in the course of “a planned in
advance deportation” realized during World War I. The resolution is
sponsored by Christian Democratic Union CDU/CSU of Germany. However,
according to Berliner Zeitung, the term “genocide” is “cautiously
avoided” in the three-page resolution. One of the MPs, who wished to
remain anonymous, reported that the resolution aims at reconciliation
of Turkey with Armenia. “We want to build a reconciliation bridge, not
to close the door,” he noted. In his turn Chairman of the Commission
for European Affairs of the Bundestag Matthias Wissmann stated that
“open and honest attitude towards the massacre of the Armenians
is a litmus test for the European trust to Turkey.” In his words,
“it is a high risk for the EU to accept such a country as Turkey,
which has such tense relations with its neighboring Armenia,” Regnum
news agency reported.

GERMAN SCHOLAR: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FACT UNQUESTIONABLE

Pan Armenian News
20.04.2005 06:33

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The withdrawal of the word «genocide» from the text
of the bill of resolution on the Armenian Genocide to be considered
by Bundestag is incorrect, Tessa Hoffman, PhD of Freie University,
Berlin, told PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent. In her words the fact
of the Genocide of 1915 is unquestionable. At the same time she
noted that Germany is not going to condemn Turkey, and merely urges
it as the assignee of the Ottoman Empire to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide. It should be noted that the debate on the Genocide Resolution
are scheduled in Bundestag April 24.

–Boundary_(ID_E1oCCofHOUhLEyNveoIOCw)–

Zaman, Turkey
April 20 2005

EU Ambassadors to Evaluate Erdogan’s Statements
By Suleyman Kurt

Published: Wednesday 20, 2005
zaman.com

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement of
“Contentions from the European Union (EU) appear in front of us
making the effort to fragment us ” shocked the EU diplomats.

EU diplomats in Ankara maintained “unofficial contacts” with the
Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
and tried to understand the meaning behind the Prime Minister’s
statement. A monthly meeting that will be held by EU ambassadors in
Ankara tomorrow will be grounds to discuss these statements. Some
attribute Erdogan’s rise to “Turkey’s so-called failure to show an
earlier performance in its EU bid” following the December 17 summit
while some interpretations suggest that his announcements would
strengthen the recent “nationalist” discourse. A diplomat from the EU
said: “When we discussed the issue with AKP deputies, they commented
that this might be addressed on the inside, in the domestic public
opinion; however, they even do not hold any concrete thoughts.” The
same diplomat summarized important issues on the agenda between
Turkey and the EU and assessed: “Cyprus, the Armenian issue, Alevis,
Ocalan (leader of the terrorist organization the Kurdistan Worker’s
Party (PKK) issues. There are no new demands on Turkey with regard to
these issues as far as I know. Why, then, did Mr. Erdogan make these
statements?” Commenting that the government might be “stuck in the
middle” with regard to the Cyprus and Armenian issues, the European
diplomat asked: “Might the government be searching for a new way out?
We ask the members of AKP. To whom does the Prime Minister Erdogan
intend this message?” Another diplomat from the EU clearly expressed
his “confusion” and asked: “Can this be a new strategy of the Turkish
government?” Trying to understand what Erdogan was aiming to achieve
through his statements, the diplomat also added: “If only we could
meet with him more often. We would be able to understand each other
better.”

Diplomats pointed out that Prime Minister Erdogan’s evaluations
regarding the EU included perspectives suggesting that there is only
a single view within the Union. They shared the idea that the “EU is
a unity of different ideas and views. These should be evaluated based
on this characteristic.” European diplomats claim that the Union has
never come to Turkey with a proposal that might cause the
disintegration of another country and they do not have such an
approach. A Turkish diplomat, on the other hand, complained: “We
cannot clearly answer our European counterparts’ questions regarding
what Mr. Erdogan’s statements might mean.”

EETimes
April 18 2005

Startup proposes statistical yield modeling

Richard Goering
EE Times
(04/18/2005 12:17 PM EDT)

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Startup Ponte Solutions Inc. this week is
announcing its mission to bring statistical yield modeling into the
IC design flow. The company aims to solve one of the most vexing
problems design for manufacturablity (DFM) – getting accurate foundry
information into designer’s hands.

If foundries go along, Ponte’s encrypted models could end the reliance
on long lists of design rules and provide a much more accurate way of
calibrating designs for acceptable yields, according to Alex Alexanian,
president and CEO. Alexanian was formerly founder and CEO of SRAM
startup Mosaic Systems.

“Today the EDA world interfaces with the fab with design rules,”
Alexanian said. “We believe that’s going to change because of high
pain.” A 90 nm design rule deck might be over 1,000 pages, he noted,
including conflicting information.

Ponte Solutions is backed by $10 million in private investment
and venture capital, and employs 60, including 49 R&D engineers in
Alexanian’s native Armenia. The company promises a “platform” for
statistical yield modeling, a high-capacity data model, and yield
analysis tools, all to be released later in 2005.

Alexanian left Mosaic to start a company then called E-Z-CAD in
2001, starting with 27 people from Mosaic’s R&D center in Armenia.
Alexanian later succeeded in raising private funds, as well as funding
from Telos Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners, and Incubic.

He also built a team including two former directors of engineering from
Monterey Design Systems – Ara Markosian, CTO, and Sedrak Sargisian,
vice president of engineering. Arklin Kee, vice president of business
development, was a co-founder of Cadence. Nitin Deo, senior vice
president of marketing, recently left Magma Design Automation to
join Ponte.

Ponte is developing a “platform” for statistical yield modeling
that claims much better calibration with actual fab processes. It’s
based on a proprietary data model that Alexanian says can do “smart
processing on billions of polygons, hierarchical or flat, in hours
for large chips.”

Models will be encrypted, so that tools can use the information
but people outside the foundry can’t see it. Ponte expects that its
statistical yield information will be integrated into IC design tools.

Ponte’s Markosian explains how statistical yield modeling works in
an EEdesign exclusive feature.

EVENTS FOR THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Thessaloniki, 18 April 2005 (16:30 UTC+2)

Macedonian Press Agency, Greece
April 18 2005

The recognition of the genocide committed by Turkey against the
Armenian people in 1915 demands the Armenian National Committee in
Greece which organizes a series of events in Thessaloniki on April
22-24 on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Genocide.

According to a statement it has issued, the premeditated extermination
of the Armenian people living in the Ottoman Empire was launched on
April 24, 1915 and as a result a total of over 1,5 million Armenians
were slaughtered by 1918 in the regions of Van, Mus, Bitlis and
Erzerum.

The Armenian National Committee demands from Turkey to recognize and
condemn the Genocide, return to the Armenian people the territories it
occupies illegally, stop the systematic destruction of Armenian culture
monuments, end the isolation of Armenia and Karabach, stop arming
Azerbaijan and the actions that undermine the peace initiatives aimed
at reaching a fair and viable solution to the Nagorno-Karabach issue.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Moms and Daughters
Team 813
Revlon Walk for Cancer
Contacts: Eileen Keusseyan Tel: 818-404-5686
Alice Chakrian Tel: 818-388-6734

Armenian Moms & Daughters to Join Revlon Walk for Cancer
Women are Urged to Register for May 7 Event in Los Angeles

(Los Angeles, April 2005) – Alice Chakrian is walking in memory of her
mother-in-law, who died last year of breast cancer. Lucy Gulvartian
for heraunt, another breast cancer casualty. Tamar Mahshigian for her
close friend, Elaine, a breast cancer survivor.

Armenian women are being called upon to register in large numbers for
this year’s Revlon Run/Walk for Women, to be held Saturday, May 7,
just before Mother’ s Day, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The
cost to participate is a $25 donation. Registration online is at
;eid=3D293631

`We all have our community work – helping our school, church,
organizations. But this walk to raise money for cancer research is
such an important cause, one that touches every woman, regardless of
ethnicity or religious affiliation. So we thought that it would be a
fantastic idea to join our strength as Armenian women and walk
together for this very emotional cause,’ says Eileen Keusseyan,
co-captain of Team 813, Armenian Moms & Daughters. `Ultimately, we
would like to see this become an annual event for Armenian women,
growing larger and stronger.’

This year alone more than 211,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed
with breast cancer, more than 22,200 will be diagnosed with ovarian
cancer and more than 57,200 will be diagnosed with other women’s
cancers. More than 69,300 will lose their lives to these deadly
diseases.

The Revlon Run/Walk for Women was launched by the Entertainment
Industry Foundation in 1993 and since then has raised an impressive
$32 million to help fund innovative cancer research, counseling and
outreach programs.

Last year, more than 50,000 women, men and children participated in
the 3.1-mile run/walk. `The first time I joined I felt the power of
unity among people with the same inner pain that I felt when my
mother-in-law, Arshalouse Chakrian, was diagnosed with breast cancer,’
says Team 813 co-captain Alice Chakrian, who has registered to walk
with her 10-year-old daughter, Rita. `The Revlon Walk became the
beginning of the healing of my pain because I felt I was making a
difference by contributing to help find a cure.’

`Each year I participate in the Revlon Run/Walk for Cancer researchI
am filled with greater hope and faith that we can make a difference
for future generations,’ says Lucy Gulvartian, who will walk with her
10-year-old daughter, Lar.

One person who lives with hope and faith is Lucy Hagopian.
`Congratulations dear Eileen and Alice. You have created a venue for
the Armenian woman and our community to merge forces in a vision for a
cancer-free society. As a woman who has survived a first encounter
with breast cancer almost 20 years ago, and a second threat in 1999, I
want to speak about hope,’ says Hagopian.

`When I was given the statistics, I did not know where I would end
up. I felt that it was no use thinking about all that so I focused on
health and thoughts of well being. I found comfort, a source of
strength and hope in The Scriptures, especially in the healings of
Christ and in the Psalms. I askedthe Lord for healing. Medicine and
doctors would do their part, I had to do mine, and Nature, which is
sacred, would take its course. And here I am today.â=80=9D

Hagopian provides a few tips on staying healthy.

1. Start your mammograms early; don’t wait until you’re 35. `I was
only 31 when I was first diagnosed,’ says Hagopian. `I have a
mammogram once a year.’

2. Make sure to include an array of naturally colorful foods in your
diet: greens, reds, orange, purple, yellow, and everything in
between. Remember to have your greens and grains regularly.

3. Find a form of exercise that you can live with, even if it’s
walking around your neighborhood three times a week and going
somewhere in nature on weekends.

4. Find a source of spiritual strength. `Reading inspirational
material has been a great help to me,’ Hagopian recommends.

For those who would like to join the Armenian Moms & Daughters team,
registration can be done online at (be
sure to put Team 813 on your registration). Donations can be made by
going to the Team 813 page on the Revlon Run Walk website and clicking
on a registrant’s name.For registration forms that can be printed and
mailed in, go to

For further information about Team 813 Armenian Moms & Daughters,
please contact Eileen Keusseyan at 818-404-5686 and Alice Chakrian at
818-388-6734.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung
15. April 2005

Yerevan rejects history commission

Erewan lehnt Historikerkommission ab

AUTOR: van Gent A.

“Versuch Ankaras, Zeit zu gewinnen”

Armenien hat Ankaras Vorschlag einer gemeinsamen Historikerkommission
zur Untersuchung der Vorwürfe eines türkischen Genozids an den
Armeniern abgelehnt. In Erewan glaubt man nicht, dass die Türkei ihre
Militärarchive wirklich öffnet. Das türkische Militär hat unterdessen
angekündigt, Dokumente zu der Frage zu veröffentlichen.

Der armenische Aussenminister Oskanjan hat den Vorschlag des
türkischen Parlaments abgelehnt, eine gemeinsame Historikerkommission
zu bilden. Es handle sich um einen Versuch Ankaras, Zeit zu gewinnen,
sagte er. Die Türkei fordere ohne Scham, die Geschichte nach ihren
Vorstellungen neu zu schreiben. Am Mittwoch hatte Ankara an das
östliche Nachbarland Armenien appelliert, alte “Tabus zu brechen” und
eine gemeinsame Expertenkommission einzurichten. Diese solle den
Vorwurf des türkischen Völkermords an den Armeniern Anfang des
letzten Jahrhunderts untersuchen und “unbegrenzten” Zugang zu den
nationalen Archiven haben. Nur auf diese Weise könne verhindert
werden, dass “unsere Vergangenheit unsere Gegenwart und Zukunft
verdunkelt”, hiess es in einer Erklärung, welche von den Vorsitzenden
aller Parlamentsparteien unterzeichnet worden war.

Expertenkommission eine Totgeburt?

Zugleich hatte der türkische Aussenminister Gül vor dem Parlament
erklärt, Ministerpräsident Erdogan habe seinem armenischen
Amtskollegen Kotscharjan den Vorschlag einer gemeinsamen
Expertenkommission in einem Brief unterbreitet. Die Parlamente
europäischer Länder forderte er hingegen auf, von einer Wertung der
blutigen Ereignisse in Ostanatolien während des Ersten Weltkriegs als
Völkermord Abstand zu nehmen. “Alle diese Anträge verletzen uns und
führen in der türkischen Öffentlichkeit dazu, die Absichten von
verbündeten Ländern mit Fragezeichen zu versehen”, sagte der
Aussenminister. Die Geschichte könne nicht von Parlamenten, sondern
nur von Historikern beurteilt werden.

Kurz bevor sich der Startschuss für die Zwangsdeportationen und
Todesmärsche der armenischen Bevölkerung Ostanatoliens zum 90. Mal
jährt, wird die Türkei von ihrer Geschichte eingeholt. Aus
armenischer Sicht sind damals über eine Million Menschen ums Leben
gekommen – Erewan spricht von einem zentral organisierten und
ausgeführten Völkermord und fordert die Anerkennung der Ereignisse
als Genozid durch die internationale Gemeinschaft. Die Türkei
akzeptiert seit kurzem, dass damals im Krieg Hunderttausende von
Türken und Armeniern umgekommen waren – von einem Völkermord will sie
aber nichts wissen. In der Geschichte der Türkei gebe es kein
Kapitel, “dessen wir uns schämen, das wir verdrängen, vergessen oder
vertuschen müssten”, wiederholte Regierungschef Erdogan am Mittwoch.

Noch ist in der türkischen Staatsspitze ein Umdenken in der
Armenierfrage nicht auszumachen. Auch bleibt unklar, inwiefern die
türkische Armee überhaupt bereit ist, der von der Regierung
vorgeschlagenen Kommission ihre aufschlussreichen Archive zu öffnen.

Armee veröffentlicht Dokumente

(afp) Unterdessen hat die türkische Armee aus ihren Archivbeständen
mehrere hundert Dokumente zu den Ereignissen freigegeben. Nach einem
Bericht der Zeitung “Vatan” will das Militär innerhalb der nächsten
Monate vier Bände mit insgesamt etwa 1000 Dokumenten publizieren. Die
ersten beiden Bände zum Zeitraum zwischen 1914 und 1918 sollten noch
in dieser Woche in den Handel kommen, schrieb die Zeitung am
Donnerstag. Die Veröffentlichung bietet erstmals einer breiteren
Öffentlichkeit die Möglichkeit, Quellen des türkischen Militärarchivs
zu studieren. Nach Angaben der Armee erhielten seit 1984 lediglich 21
Forscher die Genehmigung, Dokumente im Archiv der Generalstabs
einzusehen.

Weiterer Bericht im Inlandteil

Venice Commission head points to drawbacks in Azeri electoral code

Turan news agency, Baku
14 Apr 05

There are drawbacks in Azerbaijan’s election legislation that need to
be rectified, the secretary of the Venice Commission of the Council of
Europe, Gianni Buquicchio, has said. In an exclusive interview with
the Azerbaijani news agency Turan, Buquicchio regretted the
Azerbaijani authorities’ failure to implement some of the commission’s
recommendations. He said the most important of them concerned the
principles of forming electoral commissions. If the commission’s
recommendations had been fulfilled, the authorities could have avoided
certain problems, he stressed. The following is the text of report by
Azerbaijani news agency Turan:

14 April: (An exclusive interview with the head of the Venice
Commission, Gianni Buquicchio, to Turan news agency)

[Correspondent] The head of the Azerbaijani presidential
administration, Ramiz Mehdiyev, recently said that the authorities
will not amend the country’s Electoral Code. His remarks imply that
Azerbaijan’s electoral laws are quite democratic and are approved by
the Council of Europe. Do you agree with this opinion and what can you
say about the role representatives of the Venice Commission play in
the work on Azerbaijan’s Electoral Code?

[Buquicchio] The Venice Commission has been cooperating with
Azerbaijan on electoral issues for several years. Back in 2003, the
commission reached an extensive opinion on Azerbaijan’s Electoral
Code. Unfortunately, a number of our recommendations were not fully
implemented by the authorities. The elections in 2003 and 2004
illustrated that it is necessary to improve not only the management of
the electoral process, but also relevant laws.

In March 2004, the Venice Commission made a series of recommendations
on the election legislation and electoral practices in
Azerbaijan. They were prepared in cooperation with the OSCE Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and highlighted a number of
drawbacks in the Azerbaijani Electoral Code.

In February 2005, the Azerbaijani authorities suggested discussing
possible changes to the code. A discussion with representatives of the
authorities was held in Strasbourg on 1 March. It was decided that the
authorities would prepare a draft of changes to the code and submit it
to the Venice Commission for examination in April.

[Correspondent] The Electoral Code was adopted in Azerbaijan in
2003. Then the main dispute was about the principles of forming
electoral commissions. The Venice Commission offered a compromise
solution, but the authorities used it only partly, keeping electoral
commissions under government control. Does the Venice Commission
expect to put forward new proposals in the light of the forthcoming
parliamentary elections?

[Buquicchio] We think that if the authorities had adopted and
implemented some recommendations in 2003, they could have steered
clear of certain problems concerning the formation of electoral
commissions. We hope the draft changes the authorities will submit to
the Venice Commission in April will include proposals on the formation
of electoral commissions.

This new round of cooperation with the Azerbaijani authorities has
started and I hope we can still make considerable recommendations in
the run-up to the parliamentary elections in November and the
Azerbaijani authorities take our suggestions into account.

[Correspondent] Is the issue being raised of restoring the
proportional representation system that was abolished in Azerbaijan in
2002?

[Buquicchio] This issue was not discussed. I would like to take this
opportunity to say that we do not give preference to a particular
electoral system. Both the first-past-the-post and proportional
representation systems are democratic and are extensively used in
Council of Europe member countries. It is up to the country to choose
either system. The Venice Commission can only advise on technical
aspects of elections and electoral laws.

[Correspondent] How much does the Azerbaijani Constitution and the
judicial system meet the European standards? Changes were made to the
Azerbaijani Constitution in 2002. Do these changes fully reflect the
commitments Azerbaijan assumed on entry into the Council of Europe?

[Buquicchio] The commission expressed its opinion that the
constitution should be amended in an effort to improve the balance
between the executive and representative branches of power. We think
the parliament could receive more power. The Council of Europe
Committee of Ministers also insists on invigorating the division of
power and ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

[Correspondent] Does the law on advocacy meet the Council of Europe
requirements?

[Buquicchio] This is a controversial issue. The Council of Europe and
the Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly discussed it. At present,
the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (the Ago Group) is
monitoring the situation. A final opinion will be delivered after the
monitoring is completed.

[Correspondent] Can the system of appointing judges in Azerbaijan be
considered democratic?

[Buquicchio] The law on legal counsel and amendments to the law on
courts became effective in January 2005. The new procedures of
appointing judges are already in force. It is premature to assess the
new procedure at this point. However, the Council of Europe is
carefully following the situation.

[Correspondent] Has the Venice Commission offered assistance in
developing the status of autonomy for Nagornyy Karabakh?

[Buquicchio] The commission has gained extensive experience in issues
of possible settlement to ethnic and political conflicts. At the same
time, I would like to say that the commission can take part in this
issue only at the technical and legal levels, not political.

The Nagornyy Karabakh issue is the prerogative of the OSCE Minsk
Group. Therefore, the commission’s involvement in this issue would be
possible only at the request of all interested sides or international
organizations.