Author: Toneyan Mark

Azeri Village Poised on the Edge of the Abyss
By Chloe Arnold

The Moscow Times
Tuesday, June 1, 2004. Page 11.

LAHIC, Azerbaijan — Hussein Ali is not a happy man. The little wooden
house where he has lived all his life has started to give way and if
he doesn’t watch out it will slip off the hillside and tumble hundreds
of meters into the ravine below.

The residents of Lahic, a ramshackle village high in the Caucasus
Mountains, are starting to wonder how long they can continue to live
here. Every year, when the snows start to melt and the streams that
trickle down the mountains become gushing rivers, they lose a little
bit more of their land.

“That used to be our potato field,” Intigam Ismailov, another resident
of the village, told me. He pointed to a thin strip of earth clinging
to the scree. Far below us, there was no sign of the rest of the
potato patch; only a dust-coloured river, snaking its way south to
the Caspian Sea.

During the long summer months, most Azeris escape the scorching heat
of the capital and head north to cooler climes. In the old days, they
went west to Karabakh, where the land is so fertile they say you can
push a twig into the ground and it will grow into a pomegranate tree.

But since the war with neighboring Armenia, Karabakh has been off
limits to Azeris, and now they go elsewhere during the hottest part
of the year.

Lahic is a four-hour drive from the capital — the last hour a
20-kilometer stretch that is not for the fainthearted. The narrow track
wends its way up a dramatic gorge with soaring red cliffs and glimpses
of snow-covered peaks even higher in the sky. The path regularly gets
washed away, and halfway up there are three rusty machines that are
called into service every time a section of the road gives way.

At the end of the pass, you come to Lahic, a close-knit community
where families have lived in the same house and farmed the same land
for hundreds of years. They even speak their own language, a dialect
of Farsi, first spoken by their ancestors, who came from Iran over
1,000 years ago.

The local skill is copper-work, and as you wander the village’s single
cobbled street, you hear the constant tapping of hammers on metal as
craftsmen forge another delicate candlestick or samovar. They rely
on tourists and rich weekenders to buy their trinkets to help make
ends meet.

But with half the village poised to slide off the mountainside,
no one knows how much longer Lahic will exist.

“None of us wants to leave,” Intigam told me sadly. “But when your
house is edging its way toward the brink of a precipice, it may be
time to move on.”

Chloe Arnold is a freelance journalist based in Baku, Azerbaijan.

US trade with Upper Garabagh creates storm

Azer News, Azerbaijan
May 27 2004

The reports on the signing of a deal between two US companies with
“Garabagh Telecom”, an entity operating in the Azerbaijani lands
occupied by Armenian and Russian military units, have caused serious
concerns in some news media and the Milli Majlis (parliament).

Some opposition and independent newspapers as well as individuals
even blame Reno Harnish, the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, for
justifying his country’s attempts to establish economic relations
with the separatist leadership of Upper Garabagh. The reason is due
to the opinions expressed by Harnish during his talk with journalists
following the 8th meeting of the US-Azerbaijani working group on
economic cooperation held in Baku last week.

The fact that the US Ambassador called Upper Garabagh ‘a country’ in
passing, as well as his saying that the US doesn’t impose commercial
restrictions against any country was called sensational by most
newspapers. In particular, the opposition-minded “Yeni Musavat”
newspaper, a publication of the Musavat Party, issued a critical
article about Harnish, urging him to give an explanation on the
matter. The newspaper even compared him with the former US Ambassador
Stanley Escudero, who Yeni Musavat says didn’t have such a good image
in Azerbaijan. The public seems to have found a reason for expressing
displeasure with the US government with regard to the Garabagh
conflict. And what is the reason for the public dissatisfaction and
negative attitude towards the US government? Why do people who
considered the United States the most reliable and powerful ally of
Azerbaijan in the 1990s, today doubt it? The main reason is that the
United States shows double standards towards Armenia and Azerbaijan,
it has failed to observe ‘a principle of justice’ in the settlement
of the Garabagh conflict and that it doesn’t differentiate between an
aggressor and a sufferer. People think that the United States is
taking advantage of the slogans of human rights, democracy,
territorial inviolability of states as well as combating terrorism
and the drug business, only for its political goals. The United
States indirectly supports Armenian separatists, who are involved in
drug business and terror attacks in the occupied territory of
Garabagh, but has imposed sanctions on Azerbaijan for about ten
years. Don’t the US intelligence agencies know that Armenian and
Arabian terrorists have been cooperating since the beginning of the
20th century? Azerbaijani MPs didn’t remain indifferent to the issue
either.

MPs’ protest

At a Tuesday session of the Milli Majlis (parliament), MPs protested
strongly against some US companies’ attempts to make investments in
the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, particularly in Upper Garabagh.
According to MPs, the business relations between the companies of the
US, which is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, and separatist
forces in Upper Garabagh contradict the national interests of
Azerbaijan. MPs proposed that the issue be discussed at the
parliament and the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan be informed about it.
They also decided to address the US government in connection with the
issue. Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov said that the US companies’ activity
doesn’t express the standpoint of the US government. He noted that
however, the issue should be considered seriously. Alasgarov
underlined that he would appeal to the Foreign Ministry in order to
clear up the matter and ask it to bring the issue to the notice of
the US Ambassador.

Ambassador denies trade ties

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish, told a news conference
after a meeting held at Baku State University (BSU) on Wednesday that
the US has not made any investments in ‘Upper Garabagh’ and that
Washington does not support trade relations with the self-proclaimed
republic. He pointed out that negotiations are the only fair
alternative in settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper
Garabagh. The latest statement of the US Ambassador eased the heated
debates but did not put an end to them. While pursuing its policy in
the region, the United States should take into account the national
interests of its partners as well. For this, it should be a fair
judge and put an end to its double standards.

Federer aims to bury the French Open jinx

The Star Online
Monday May 24, 2004

Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Roger Federer will have to take
the hard road if he is bury his embarrassing French Open jinx when
the second Grand Slam event of the season gets underway here today.

The Swiss world number one, widely considered the finest player of
the current generation, has suffered successive first round defeats
on the slow, red clay of Roland Garros in the last two years.

To add to his problems, he could face triple Roland Garros champion
Gustavo Kuerten in the third round here with Argentina’s David
Nalbandian and former world number one Marat Safin of Russia waiting
to pounce later in the draw.

However, with defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero horribly out of
form with a wrist injury and with serious doubts over US Open winner
Andy Roddick’s ability to adapt his booming game to the slow surface,
there may never be a better opportunity for Federer to triumph here.

Ferrero must face former world number two Tommy Haas of Germany in
his first round match.

Federer also has the added psychological advantage of having defeated
another leading rival Guillermo Coria in the final of the Hamburg
Masters, ending the Argentinian’s 31-match unbeaten run on clay in
the process.

“I’m more relaxed now. The last two years, I went to Paris with very
high hopes. I thought that if I had been in the quarter-finals of the
French Open in 2001 and had won Hamburg in 2002, I can do better at
the French,” said Federer whose win in Germany was his fourth of the
year and 15th of his career.

History says otherwise.

In 2002, he was dumped out of the first round here by Morocco’s Hicham
Arazi while last year it was the turn of Peru’s Luis Horna to take
the Swiss player’s scalp in straight sets.

Federer’s best showing here remains his 2001 quarter-final finish
and he is aware that with Ferrero having not played for a month,
it is Coria who remains a major threat.

The 22-year-old Argentinian is a master of clay where he has won
all of his eight titles, the most recent of which was in Monte Carlo
last month.

Reigning US Open champion Roddick also has a lot to prove.

Like Federer, he has lost in the first round here on his last two
visits with his 2003 exit at the hands of Armenia’s Sargis Sargsian
prompting him to enlist Andre Agassi’s former coach Brad Gilbert to
help him out of his slump.

It certainly had the desired effect with the young American taking
his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September.

Agassi, now 34, remains many people’s sentimental favourite to add
the trophy to his 1999 triumph as he sets out on his 16th French
Open campaign.

But his build-up has not been impressive.

He made a first round exit at St Poelten on Monday at the hands of
world number 339 Nenad Zimonjic in what was his first clay court
outing of the season.

Safin will also be a contender after a miserable 2003 campaign which
was wrecked by injury.

The Russian was a semi-finalist here in 2002 and hammered home his
recovery by making the final of the Australian Open in January. – AFP

Libération
20 mai 2004

CINEMA

Potes belges;
Cannes 2004. Hors compétition. Docu belge sur un trio sympathique de
Pieds Nickelés du cinéma.

par DOUHAIRE Samuel

On trouve de tout dans la section “Cannes Classics”. Des
documentaires sur des figures aussi éminentes qu’Henri Langlois, le
père de la Cinémathèque française, Serguei Parajdanov, le prophète
visionnaire du cinéma arménien, ou Glauber Rocha, le gourou du cinema
novo brésilien.

Mais aussi un vibrant hommage à trois Pieds nickelés du cinéma
wallon, présentés avec beaucoup de sympathie dans un documentaire de
Frédéric Sojcher, cinéaste lui-même belge d’une trentaine d’années.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (sic), l’homme masqué, Jacques Hardy et Max
Naveaux sont des “cinéastes à tout prix”, animés d’une foi enfantine
dans le cinéma, malgré ou peut-être grâce à l’indigence des moyens
dont ils ne disposent pas.

Ils tournent dans leur jardin et montent dans leur garage des nanars
invraisemblables interprétés bénévolement par leurs proches. Et comme
le dit Jean-Jacques Rousseau, le plus allumé des trois, proche de
l’entarteur Noël Godin et de la désormais star Benoît Poelvoorde :
“J’aimerais bien que Steven Spielberg échange ses budgets avec les
miens. Il ne ferait pas aussi bien.” Cinéastes à tout prix devrait
être diffusé avant la fin de l’année sur les chaînes câblées de Ciné
Cinéma. Avec, on l’espère, quelques perles de ces trois Ed Wood
belges.

Cinéastes à tout prix, documentaire de Frédéric Sojcher (Belgique), 1
h 06.

Russian, Armenian defence ministers to discuss mil cooperation

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 20 2004

YEREVAN, May 20 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Acting Defence Minister Sergei
Ivanov’s two-day working visit to Armenia that will begin on Thursday
will focus on Russian-Armenian military cooperation issues.

Ivanov will have talks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisyan,
and they are expected to sign joint documents.

The two ministers will discuss developing Russian-Armenian relations in
the area of military and technical military cooperation and exchange
views on military issues, including ensuring regional security,
the Armenian Defence Ministry’s press secretary Seiran Shakhsuvaryan
told Itar-Tass.

Russian-Armenian military cooperation is considered the most advanced
area in bilateral relations.

The Russian military base in Armenia is believed to be one of the
most important constituent parts of Armenia’s national security.

The Russian Defence Minister on Friday will chair a meeting of the
CIS defence minister council.

Among the main issues on the agenda are development and supporting
of combat readiness of the CIS united air-defence system.

The meeting will discuss a draft programme for ensuring comprehensive
resistance of CIS countries to air attack forces and means.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
05/19/2004
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1) Europe Firm on Expectations from Turkey
2) Armenian, Turkish Parliament Speakers Meet in Strasbourg
3) Rustamian Speaks Candidly on ARF’s Role and Opposition
4) Foundation Seeks to Bury Gorky’s Remains in Armenia

1) Europe Firm on Expectations from Turkey

BRUSSELS (Marmara/Zaman)–Europe reiterated its recommendations and
expectations to Turkey during the 43rd meeting of the EU-Turkey Partnership
Council, in Brussels on May 18.
Addressing Turkey’s quest for EU membership, Enlargement Commissioner Günter
Verheugen praised the legislative reform package approved by Ankara as
representing “very impressive progress,” but said the EU still remains
troubled
by the shortcomings in the implementation of these reforms. And while praising
Turkey’s policy on Cyprus, the body reviewed Turkey’s unbalanced policy on
landownership by its non-Muslim population, its banning of Kurdish TV, and
necessary reforms to guarantee judicial freedoms.
Responding to the criticism, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who
attended the session, offered guarantees that all laws will be implemented by
year-end.

2) Armenian, Turkish Parliament Speakers Meet in Strasbourg

STRASBOURG (Anadolu/RFE/RL)–The speakers of the Armenian and Turkish
parliaments met in Strasbourg on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of
improving relations between their estranged nations.
Armenia’s Artur Baghdasarian said the meeting marked a “positive step”
towards
the normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties, even though it did not result in
any formal agreements. “We live in the same region and must be able to
gradually establish a normal relationship,” he said.
Baghdasarian said he and his Turkish counterpart, Bulent Arinc, agreed on
“the
need to develop Turkish-Armenian dialogue.” He said he urged Arinc to press
the
Turkish government to adopt an “impartial position” on the Mountainous
Karabagh
conflict.
Turkey sealed the border 11 years ago out of solidarity with Turkic
Azerbaijan
and still refuses to lift the embargo before a settlement of the conflict. The
government in Ankara signaled last year its readiness to drop that
precondition
but has recently ruled out such possibility. President Robert Kocharian
indicated Yerevan’s frustration with the Turkish stance last week when he
announced his decision not to attend the NATO summit in Istanbul next month.
The Anadolu Agency reported that Arinc once more conveyed Turkey’s
preconditions before bilateral diplomatic relations could be established.
According to Anadolu, Arinc expressed Turkey’s uneasiness about the
“so-called
Armenian genocide and land claims taking place in [the] Armenian
constitution,”
and he said that not only Ankara, but also the United Nations, as well as
other
international organizations expect the Armenian authorities to take positive
steps in seeking a solution of “Upper Karabagh problem.”
Baghdasarian said he was specifically asked by his Turkish counterpart
whether
Armenia has any territorial claims to Turkey stemming from its campaign for
international recognition of the tragedy. He said he told the Turkish speaker
that “the issue is not on our foreign policy agenda.”
Arinc told the Anadolu agency that if Turkey’s sensitivities were taken into
consideration, then “Ankara would welcome this and give a necessary reply to
Yerevan.”
The Strasbourg talks were held on the sidelines of a meeting of parliament
speakers from the Council of Europe member states.

3) Rustamian Speaks Candidly on ARF’s Role and Opposition

YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Speaking to Noyan Tapan, Armen Rustamian said that
there
is a gradual demand in Armenia’s political arena for a constructive
opposition,
and spoke frankly about the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s role in the
ruling coalition government.
Rustamian, Chairman of the National Assembly’s foreign relations commission
and the chairman of ARF Armenia’s Supreme Body, emphasized that if the
opposition advanced constructive proposals rather than tactics to overthrow
the
government, it would have a greater following.
“While individuals can complain about the authorities, they can also be
dissatisfied with the opposition, and find it difficult to choose,” he said in
discussing the existence of a large undecided electorate in Armenia, as
well as
the possibility of some of the opposition forces to step back and form a
constructive opposition with other political forces.
This opposition, Rustamian emphasized, would advance issues crucial for the
country’s development and pinpoint correct tactics to avoid the mistakes of
today’s opposition.
When warranted, he said, the ARF will play the role of an “opposition,” or it
will back certain “positions,” depending on how the party views its role in
seeking an absolute solution to the problems the country faces.
He stressed that if the ARF believes it cannot realize its full potential
as a
part of the coalition government because the tasks at hand to advance the
country remain only on paper, then the party would not remain in the coalition
to act as a veil for the authorities or as a buffer between the authorities
and
the people.
The effective implementation of programs stipulated by the coalition’s
memorandum will decide whether it remains in the coalition. Rustamian
stressed,
however, the possibilities of solving current problems have not yet expended.

4) Foundation Seeks to Bury Gorky’s Remains in Armenia

YEREVAN (Armenpress/BrainJuice)–One of Arshile Gorky’s greatest dreams was to
“to return home and mix with Armenian soil,” after his death. Fifty-six years
after Gorky’s tragic death, his wish is expected to come true. The
Yerevan-based Arshile Gorky Foundation has undertaken fundraising efforts and
is requesting permission to transport and bury Gorky’s remains in Armenia.
The chairman of the foundation Badal Badalian, said that if the foundation
succeeds, it would be appropriate to rebury Gorky at the Dzidzernagapert
Memorial in Yerevan, which is dedicated to the victims of the 1915 Armenian
genocide, but added that the final word belongs to the government.
Born in Western Armenia, in the village of Khorgom on the banks of Lake
Van in
1904, Gorky (Vostanik Adoyan) escaped the Turkish massacres with thousands of
others refugees. After his mother died of famine, he headed for the US. His
whole life in the new country, which ended in suicide, consisted of years of
hard work and bitter struggle.
A pilgrimage is planned to Gorky’s native village of Khorgom in Turkey on
July
21, the day Gorky committed suicide. The foundation also plans to launch a
poster campaign across Armenia in honor of Gorky.
One of the most famous contemporary artists, the founder of Abstract
Surrealism, Gorky was described by Andre Breton as the most important painter
in American history. Tragically enough, the years in which his art was
ascending to its greatest heights were also the darkest in his life.
In January of 1946, Gorky’s studio, a converted barn on his wife’s
Connecticut
property, burned down, taking with it many of the paintings, drawings, and
books Gorky owned. One month later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and
underwent a colostomy, which left him physically handicapped and emotionally
scarred. His deteriorating marriage finally exploded when he discovered that
Agnes was having an affair with Gorky’s friend Surrealist painter Matta
Echaurren. Soon thereafter, she left, taking his beloved children. The same
week as his breakup, Gorky was involved in a car accident while riding with
New
York gallery owner Julien Levy, who was driving under the influence. Gorky
suffered a fractured back and neck and was put in an enormous leather neck
brace that held his head up. Shattered physically, emotionally, and
spiritually, betrayed by or estranged from everyone he most loved, Gorky
retreated to his house in Connecticut, where he hung himself from the rafters
of the barn on July 21, 1948. His parting phrase was written in chalk on a
crate: “Goodbye, my loved ones.”
To Gorky, art was nothing short of a necessity; he put his painting before
all
else, and when all else failed him, he relied on painting to pull him through.
He faced more than his share of misfortunes, which began in his early life and
brought him to an early death. In his art, he sought to reclaim the past that
had been stolen from him, and to shape his future, which always, and
ultimately
tragically, fell short of his expectations and ambitions.

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OSCE welcomes contacts between Armenian authorities, opposition

Mediamax news agency
13 May 04

Yerevan, 13 May: Vladimir Pryakhin, the head of the OSCE office
in Yerevan and ambassador, has welcomed the resumption of contacts
between the authorities and the opposition in Armenia.

“I call on both sides to engage in a genuine dialogue to settle
the existing differences within the constitutional framework,”
Pryakhin said. He said that “a dialogue is the best way to reach
mutual understanding and develop political stability”, Mediamax news
agency reports.

Pryakhin also called on the Armenian authorities to re-consider
the cases of people detained during the recent demonstrations and to
continue efforts to reform the Code of Administrative Violations. This
would make it possible to eliminate the practice of administrative
detentions, “which is incompatible with European standards”, he said.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

Thursday 13 May 2004
TURKMENISTAN: RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION’S LATEST DISGUISES

In his latest attempt to disguise Turkmenistan’s de facto criminalisation
of religious belief, President Saparmurat Niyazov has today (13 May)
revoked the de jure criminalisation of unregistered religious activity.
Believers were, before the de jure criminalization, treated as de facto
criminals and fined, detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from their jobs,
had their homes confiscated, banished to remote parts of the country or
deported in retaliation for unregistered religious activity. Niyazov has
also cancelled a secret decree requiring registered religious communities
to subject themselves to tight financial regulation by the state –
but has imposed tight financial regulation in a different way, through an
official model statute for religious communities. Forum 18 News Service has
obtained a copy of this, and religious leaders in Turkmenistan have told
Forum 18 that they find these restrictions unacceptable. Many prefer to
continue to exist in the underground.

TURKMENISTAN: RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION’S LATEST DISGUISES

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

Under intense international pressure over its repression of religious life,
Turkmenistan’s president Saparmurat Niyazov has today (13 May) revoked the
punishments introduced into the Criminal Code last year on those involved
in unregistered religious activity. Before these punishments were
introduced, Turkmenistan already had tight controls -which it still
maintains – on unregistered religious activity. All Shia Muslim, Baptist,
Pentecostal, Adventist, Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Hare Krishna,
Jehovah’s Witness, Baha’i and Jewish activity was de facto if not de jure
treated as illegal. Believers were, even before the de jure criminalization
of unregistered activity, fined, detained, beaten, threatened, sacked from
their jobs, had their homes confiscated, banished to remote parts of the
country or deported in retaliation for involvement in unregistered
religious activity. De jure decriminalisation is not expected to change the
established pattern of de facto criminalisation.

President Niyazov also cancelled a secret decree he had issued on 23 March
which required registered religious communities to subject themselves to
tight financial regulation by the state. However, Forum 18 News Service has
also received a copy of the six-page model statute handed out to religious
communities by the Adalat (Fairness or Justice) Ministry which requires all
religious communities to pay 20 per cent of their income to the
government’s Gengeshi (Council) for Religious Affairs and imposes other
tight controls. This imposes tight financial regulation in a different way,
as well as forcing registered communities to provide the state with
information helpful to its continued persecution of religious believers
(see F18News 10 May ).

The pro-government website turkmenistan.ru claimed that the president
cancelled the criminal penalties and the secret decree “with the aim
of creating the necessary legal guarantees to secure freedom of religion
and belief, as well as to complete the laws of the country on religious
organisations”. Turkmenistan has for the last seven years refused to
register all communities of the Shia Muslims, Armenian Apostolic Church,
all Protestants (including Pentecostals, Lutherans and Baptists), Jews,
Baha’is, the Hare Krishna community and the New Apostolic Church.

The president’s moves are the latest in an embarrassing series of
conflicting legal moves designed to head off international criticism
sparked by last October’s amendments to the religion law and the criminal
code which tightened even further restrictions on registered religious
communities and criminalized unregistered religious activity.

In March this year, the president also announced an apparent paper
relaxation of persecution, apparently allowing religious communities to
gain official registration regardless of how many members they have or what
faith they belong to (see F18News 12 March
). However, it became
clear that this apparent relaxation masked moves to impose stringent
controls on any community that registered, such as a requirement that any
worship service or other event needs state permission to take place (see
F18News 10 May ).

The change in bureaucratic requirements also did not signal any respite in
persecution, being apparently intended to allow religious communities to
exist in theory but be persecuted in practice. Secret police raids
continued and on the same day the March announcement was made, a Jehovah’s
Witness was arrested and pressured by officials, including a Mullah, to
renounce his faith and then fired from his job (see F18News
). As Forum 18 has
documented, persecution continued since then unabated, Muslims, for
example, being barred from building new mosques on 29 March (see F18News 30
March ). It is highly
unlikely that today’s announcement marks any actual relaxation in
persecution.

The registration regulations issued by the Adalat Ministry on 10 March,
which appear still to be in force despite the latest legal moves, come in
the form of a model statute which religious communities appear required to
follow very closely if they are to get registration. Article 13 defines the
first aim of a religious organization, ahead even of “jointly
confessing and spreading their faith”, as “respecting the
Constitution and laws of Turkmenistan”.

Services would be allowed in property owned by religious organisations and
in private homes “in cases of ritual necessity”. It remains
unclear if regular services in private homes or elsewhere would be
illegal.

Only adults citizens of Turkmenistan would be allowed to belong to
religious organizations, according to Article 16, leaving it unclear
whether foreign citizens living in the country would even be allowed to
attend religious services of registered organizations.

Although registered religious communities would be able to teach children
on their own premises, teachers would have to be approved in advance by the
Gengeshi.

Article 15 of the statute requires the payment of 20 per cent of income to
the Gengeshi every quarter, while all donations from abroad have to be
registered at the Adalat Ministry.

Leaders of religious organizations have to be Turkmen citizens, making it
difficult for faiths like the Catholics or the Armenians which do not have
native clergy. The model statute also defines how the administration of
each faith must work and how often its governing body must meet.

The model statute also states that leaders of religious organizations are
also expected to have higher religious education, a concept which is not
defined. This concept may be a further restriction on the clergy who can be
appointed, possibly related to Niyazov’s decree dismissing from state
employment, with effect from 1 June, anyone who holds higher education
decrees awarded outside Turkmenistan since 1993.

Article 38 allows courts to liquidate religious organizations for
“repeated or gross violations” of the country’s laws, while the
Adalat Ministry can also terminate an organisation’s registration (for
which the statute gives no further explanation).

Religious leaders in Turkmenistan have already told Forum 18 that they find
the restrictions in the model statute unacceptable. Many prefer to continue
to exist in the underground, as the latest apparent relaxations mark no
change in the continued de facto criminalisation and persecution of
religious believers.

For more background see Forum 18’s latest religious freedom survey at

A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
s/index.html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved.

You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to
F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

=================================================

Azerbaijan Ready To Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
May 12 2004

12 May 2004 — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev today marked the 10th
anniversary of the end of fighting with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh
by saying Azerbaijan was trying to settle the still-unresolved dispute
by peaceful means, but if that failed, Azerbaijan was ready to go to
war “at any moment” over the territory.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan needs to increase its military potential in
order to “restore its territorial integrity.”

More than 30,000 people were killed and 1 million were left homeless
during five years of war over the territory. The 1994 cease-fire left
ethnic Armenian forces in control of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan
still wants control of the territory.

Internationally mediated talks have so far failed to convert the
cease-fire into a permanent political settlement.

A1 Plus | 14:38:46 | 10-05-2004 | Social |

ECOLOGY PROBLEMS ENDANGER SECURITY OF ARMENIA

The ecology crisis may abet the political instability. Settlement of
ecological problems helps to lessen the political tension. There are
numerous unsolved issues in the ecology sphere of Armenia, which may
endanger safety of the country.

The members of OSCE and UNEP told this during the discussion over
“Assessment of “Hot Spots” in Ecology and Security Spheres of Armenia”.

The aim of this program is to find the reasons of deterioration of
the environment in South Caucasus states and to apply measures to
prevent them.

According to OSCE Economy and Ecology Councilor Gianluca Rampolla,
drinking water pollution, the waste, the old industrial establishments,
which may cause accidents during natural disasters are the problems
endangering Armenia.

Mr. Gianluca informed that program would be introduced in Azerbaijan
the following week. “We are aware of Azerbaijan attitude towards
Armenia. But we do hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will combine over
the ecological problems”, he added.

By the way, a representative from Azerbaijan was invited for this
discussion but he didn’t come.