Author: Tumanian Talar

COE POLITICAL COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARINGS ON NAGORNY KARABAKH CONFLICT

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
May 24 2004

[May 24, 2004, 12:33:41]

Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is due
on May 24.

As was informed to the correspondent of AzerTAj from press-service of
Milli Majlis, the head of delegation of Azerbaijan in this
Organization Samad Seyidov will take part in the session.

At the session, discussed will be exchange of opinions with
candidates on the post of the Secretary General of the Council of
Europe, the agenda of June session of 2004 and results of the
conference of chairmen of parliaments of the Southern Caucasus
countries.

In the session of PACE Committee of political affairs on May 25, also
will participate the deputy of Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Vagif
Vekilov. On this action, the opinion of the special representative of
the Council of Europe on Nagorny Karabakh conflict Terry Davis,
concerning this conflict will be heard, also discussed will be the
exchange of opinions on activity of the Organization on Northern
Ireland, further development of democratic reforms in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, political conditions in the Chechen Republic and on
other questions.

The visit will come end on May 27.

Level of Armenian-Russian presidents’ meeting assessed – Armenian paper

Aravot, Yerevan
19 May 04

Text of a Naira Mamikonyan report by Armenian newspaper Aravot
headlined “Two sides of the visit” on 19 May

The visit of the Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to Moscow had
two sides to it. One is, how did Russian officials including Russian
President Vladimir Putin receive him? The next are the arrangements
made on certain issues during the discussions in the course of the
visit. By the way, according to our sources, both may be compared
with each other because of their low level.

Reception of [Robert] Kocharyan went around all the accepted
protocol norms. Last week quoting the Rosiyskaya Gazeta newspaper,
Armenian press stressed that Kocharyan was received in Moscow not as
a president of the strategic partner country. In particular, Shant
TV [an Armenian private TV channel] showed how Robert Kocharyan was
received in the Novo-Ogarevo private house of the Russian president.

The fact is that Kocharyan had to wait for the Russian president for
several minutes at the entrance, during which TV operators of Russian
television asked him to stay out of the way and not to become an
obstacle to filming Putin. Then according to our source, when Putin
was noticed at the door, one of the body guards of the latter gave a
hint to Kocharyan, a hand up, saying not to come up to Putin. “Even
the meetings at the president’s house have their “protocol”. As for
the fact that Putin was late, any break of protocol may be explained,
but one thing is evident, if there is a “protocol” part, it should be
kept, another option is evidence of an attitude towards the president
of a country,” our source said.

Traditional briefing of the two countries presidents with journalists
is one of the indicators of the level of a reception, which was not
observed either.

The leader of the parliamentary group Republican Party of Armenia
Galust Saakyan comments on this. According to him, “there is political
speculation about this”. Asked about if it is normal that our president
had to wait for Russian president’s reception for several minutes,
Galust Saakyan replied: “These are just stories.”

As for other details of the meeting, it is only known that as a
result of the meeting the Armenian party agreed to give 45 per cent
more shares of Hayrusgazard [Armrosgazprom] to Russian Gazprom. Some
people assess it as compensation for signing a contract on Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline construction. As Nezavisimaya Gazeta says, “Moscow was
also against” this programme. “Construction of the gas pipeline, via
which Iranian gas will enter Armenia, and further via Georgian Poti
and Ukranian Ilichevsk to Europe, means that Russia loses a monopoly
over gas export to the European market.”

In Armenia, representative of the Armat [root] centre Ara Saakyan
comments on the above mentioned deal: “Today’s authorities imagine
the Armenian-Russian relations with the level of giving something
to Russia. The Armenian authorities give as much they suppose to
gain. But here the mistake is that superpowers always think about
getting much and giving less, and such small countries as Armenia
are finally satisfied with giving much and getting less.”

According to Saakyan, “Robert Kocharyan is making the foreign policy of
Armenia serve the settlement of domestic problems, for the preservation
of his power.” In this context, one may understand why Kocharyan
resigned himself to a shameful reception as well as to giving one more
establishment to Russia. Meanwhile Saakyan denied the existence of
such a bargain. “There is not such a problem and Kocharyan’s visit
to Moscow was not connected with it. There is no sale of shares,
moreover it has nothing in common with domestic political problems.”

Glasgow Daily Record, UK
May 19 2004

BOXING: I WON’T POOL MY PUNCHES May 19 2004

Champ Scott turns to underwater training
By Hugh Keevins

SCOTT HARRISON has been working under water in a bid to triumph on
dry land.

The WBO world featherweight champion has been punching in a pool as
he prepares for his title defence against William Abelyan on June 19.

He turned to the unusual rehabilitation technique after damaging the
bicep in his right arm.

Now he’s vowed to make a real splash and give US-based Armenian
Abelyan the hammering of a lifetime in their rescheduled fight at
Braehead Arena.

Harrison’s father and trainer, Peter, said: ‘The injury was sustained
doing every-day push-ups on the training bars.

‘But Scott could come back stronger than before because of the work
he’s been doing at the sports rehabilitation centre at Hampden. He’s
been punching under water and that resistance work is strengthening
his arm.’

Harrison has also been putting in some tough training sessions on
the hills as he prepares to get into the ring with Abelyan.

Their original meeting in March was postponed when the challenger
injured his arm and the Scot had to fight South American Walter
Estrada as a late replacement.

Last night Harrison said: ‘Now I’m ready to go. I’m sure this will
be a case of third time lucky for me but it will be no such thing
for Abelyan because he’s going to get the hammering of a lifetime.

‘The injury was unfortunate and happened at a bad time because my
training was going so well. But now I’m back in the gym and the arm
feels great again. I’ve started punching and, if anything, it feels
a lot stronger.

‘The rest and treatment have done me the world of good and I can’t
wait to get it on with Abelyan.’

Harrison senior has been poring over video footage of the little-known
opponent and has arrived at the conclusion the challenger has more
nuisance value than star quality.

The trainer said: ‘Armenians based in the States aren’t big box office
so he won’t have fought on many big shows.

‘Abelyan says he won’t be intimidated by the 5000-capacity crowd at
Braehead Arena but I can assure you it will have an affect on him.

‘Some people on the other side of the Atlantic try to tell you they
don’t where Scotland is on the map, so how can they be frightened?
Then they feel the passion of the ticket-buying public and there is
a sudden change of mind.

‘Abelyan will come here to steal the fight with counter-punching. All
of the commentators over there describe him as the kind of fighter
you would want to avoid.

‘He is awkward enough to make you look bad and can bang a bit if he
gets the chance.

‘But I don’t believe he can be a harder target to hit than Manuel
Medina.’

It was the Mexican who gave Harrison only the second professional
defeat of his career last July and relieved him of his title.

Revenge was taken in November and the double header has convinced
Harrison senior the champion will not relinquish his crown a second
time.

He said: ‘Nobody can be more awkward than Medina. He was so
unpredictable in his movements.’

Azeri MP Slams BBC

Baku Today, Azerbaijan
May 15 2004

A pro-government member of the Azerbaijani parliament on Friday
slammed British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) for sending its
reporters to Nagorno-Karbakh (NK) without getting official permission
from Baku.

“I think the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must react to this,” said
Anar Mammadkhanli, adding that not only BBC, but also some other
foreign news agencies send their correspondents to NK without
receiving permission from the Azerbaijani authorities.
Nagorno-Karabakh – a former autonomous region of Azerbaijan – is
being occupied by Armenian troops since they took control over the
region in 1991-94 war.

Take action against gangs

Pasadena Star-News, CA
May 12 2004

EXCEPT for state Sen. Nell Soto, the silence out of Sacramento is
deafening. Why have area legislators remained mum on the problem of
gang violence in their districts?

Perhaps they believe they can do nothing. But shouldn’t they at least
try something, anything, to prevent the kind of senseless violence that
took the life of California Highway Patrol officer Thomas Steiner and
effectively ended hopes for a life outside of prison for his alleged
killer, 16-year-old Valentino Mitchell Arenas?

The teen allegedly shot Steiner as he exited the Pomona Superior Court,
perhaps as a ticket into Pomona’s oldest and most violent crime family,
the 12th Street Gang.

Only Soto has reached out to Pomona Mayor Eddie Cortez who hopes to
form a gang task force. A community forum Tuesday in Pomona explored
the problem.

Intervention is badly needed. As chronicled Monday by Staff Writer
Sara Carter, Arenas was born in the heart of 12th Street territory;
family members were part of the gang and did time behind bars.

It’s time state lawmakers, especially Latino legislators who could
stand as role models, take a long hard look at such gang activity
and say “enough’ because gangs aren’t just a Pomona problem.

If communities don’t work toward solutions, gangs will continue to
prey upon one another and the wider population. A generation of young
people are being rubbed out by each other.

Here’s the sad, tough truth. Only Latinos can end the internecine
Latino gang killings by standing against gangs.

Only Asians can stop the assaults and home-invasion robberies that see
Asian gangs preying on their own people, setting up extortion rackets,
prostitution rings and trafficking in human slaves. Who will say
“stop’?

We must get at the root of gang culture that sees generation after
generation follow the gang lifestyle. For Arenas, belonging to the 12th
Street Gang was part of his environment. That sad cycle must be broken.

It will take involvement from those leaders in the community who have
either been there and managed to claw their way out of gangs or those
who found a way to resist joining.

Schools too must look for underlying gang involvement in interracial
violence on campus. Azusa found most of the so- called hate crimes in
their city sprang from a local Latino gang striking out at African
Americans. March 5, fighting erupted between Armenian and African-
American students at Pasadena’s Marshall Fundamental High School.
Armenian gangs are the newest ethnic crime component.

Racism, ethnic hatred. Communities must actively work to end these
old hatreds. Peer mediation at Marshall and other schools have helped.

But a multipronged, concerted effort is needed, beginning with
all-important adult role models who have been silent far too long.

Now is the time for Soto and fellow Sens. Martha Escutia and Gloria
Romero along with Assembly members Rudy Bermudez, Ron Calderon,
Ed Chavez, Judy Chu and Carol Liu as well as community leaders to
speak out against gangs and map strategies to end their influence
on young people. We agree with Soto: “We need more than thought. We
need action.’

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1) Remembering Shushi Liberation with Calls for Peace
2) Government, Opposition Continue Negotiations
3) Kocharian to Steer Clear of NATO Summit in Istanbul

1) Remembering Shushi Liberation with Calls for Peace

STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources)–Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) celebrated
the 1992 liberation of Shushi on May 9, also the Russian holiday Victory Day,
which observes the end of World War II.
In a statement, President Kocharian celebrated the “day of victory and
peace,”
saying that the day has taken on new meaning since the liberation of Shushi.
“The day symbolizes the adamant will of the people to protect their rights,
guarantee their security, and freedom to develop.”
Kocharian said that the days also correspond to the 10th anniversary of a
ceasefire in Karabagh. “The fruits of this peaceful decade are unmistakable,”
he said, pledging his resolve to settle the conflict peacefully.
MKR President Arkady Ghukasian said that the Shushi operation literally saved
the people of Artsakh from physical elimination, by opening the “road to life”
and to Armenia.
Talking about Shushi’s Liberation and Victory Day, Ghukasian pointed to the
strength of successive generations.
“The current generation continues with the glorious military traditions of
their grandfathers and fathers who demonstrated courage and fearlessness on
the
battlefield of the World War II. The current generation defended the freedom
and independence of Mountainous Karabagh even when the enemy outnumbered
physically, and outweighed with their military hardware.”
He stressed that while MKR’s defense forces remain the most reliable
guarantor
of security, vigilance must be maintained at a time when Azerbaijan tries to
reverse history, cherishing hopes for a forcible settlement of the Karabagh
problem. “We should maintain the rate of military construction, equip our army
with up-to-date weapons, and seek to improve fighting skills.”
Ghukasian emphasized, however, that Karabagh’s army is one of peace, with the
fundamental goal of defending MKR and its people against external aggression.
“Be confident; our army is ready at any moment to repulse the enemy if it
dares to breach our peaceful life and infringe on our independence,” he added.
“May the memory of those who were killed for Artsakh’s happy future, live
forever. The duty of those living is not to allow the blood shed by them be in
vain. Long live our military veterans!” Ghukasian said.
Recollecting that a cease-fire agreement was signed 10 year ago, Ghukasian
said that Azerbaijan was forced to recognize Mountainous Karabagh as a
party to
the conflict and sign the truce–exclusively because of the successes of the
Karabagh army.
“Precisely for this reason, our army is also one of the effective guarantors
of maintaining a peaceful settlement with Azerbaijan. I would like to assure
you that, as before, MKR’s leadership is committed to a peaceful settlement of
the Karabagh conflict. There is no alternative.”

2) Government, Opposition Continue Negotiations

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Senior representatives of the Armenian government and the
opposition held another meeting on Monday, without substantive discussions,
but
agreeing instead on a new format of their talks.
The two sides seem to have discarded a 30-point agenda of their talks
tentatively approved by their leaders last week, instead deciding to upgrade
the status to “negotiations” after the parliamentary leaders of the three
parties of the coalition informed the opposition that they have been
authorized
by President Robert Kocharian to discuss possible solutions to Armenia’s
political crisis.
The negotiations between the coalition parties and the Artarutyun (Justice)
and the National Unity Party (AMK) are due to formally get underway on
Thursday, the day before the next opposition rally in Yerevan. The two sides
have to finalize their agenda in the next two days.
Artarutyun and the AMK announced on Tuesday a 10-day suspension of their
campaign of street times to give the authorities time to address those
demands.
One of their leaders, Albert Bazeyan, was skeptical on Sunday about chances of
ending the standoff through negotiations.
“The Council of Europe expected the opposition to freeze some processes so
that we could organize discussions with government bodies on ways of bringing
the country out of crisis,” Bazeyan said. “But we see no reciprocal steps by
the authorities and our rallies and marches will most probably resume on
May 14
with much greater vigor.”

3) Kocharian to Steer Clear of NATO Summit in Istanbul

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian will not attend a NATO summit in
Istanbul next month due to the persisting strained relations between Armenia
and Turkey, his chief spokesman said on Monday.
“That has nothing to do with the Armenia-NATO relationship which is currently
on the rise,” the presidential press secretary, Ashot Kocharian, told
reporters, citing Yerevan’s growing involvement in the US-led alliance’s
Partnership for Peace program.
“The president’s non-participation in the work of the summit has more to do
with the current state of Turkish-Armenian relations,” he said. He added that
there has been no “considerable progress” in the US-backed efforts to improve
them in the past year.
President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and French
President Jacques Chirac are among dozens of Western leaders due to attend the
summit in Turkey’s largest city on June 28-29. The leaders of neighboring
Azerbaijan and Georgia, which view NATO membership as a long-term foreign
policy goal, will also attend.
Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations, the establishment of which
Ankara links to a resolution of the Karabagh conflict. Senior officials from
either country have made rare visits to the other over the past decade only to
take part in high-level international meetings. Kocharian, for example,
attended the November 1999 summit in Istanbul of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe.
Turkey signaled last year its readiness to reopen its border with Armenia
before a Karabagh settlement–a move which would please the United States and
the European Union but would jeopardize its close ties with Azerbaijan. Some
Armenian sources involved in contacts with Turkish officials said earlier this
year that the decision to lift the 11-year blockade might be announced during
the NATO summit; however, Kocharian’s decision not to travel to Istanbul
suggests that the reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border is still not on the
cards.
Turkish leaders reportedly assured Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev last
month that they will continue to link the normalization of relations with
Armenia to a pro-Azeri solution to the Karabagh dispute. “It is out of the
question for now to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border,” Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul said afterward.
Gul also called for a trilateral meeting on Karabagh of the Armenian, Azeri,
and Turkish foreign ministers. Turkish diplomatic sources were quoted as
saying
that the meeting could take place on the sidelines of the Istanbul summit.

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SYMBOLIC RITUAL OF PASSING THROUGH BARBED WIRE INVENTED

A1 Plus | 18:57:31 | 11-05-2004 | Politics |

Each participant of the For and Against Civil Will forum held Tuesday
by 40 organizations had to go through barbed wire to get in the hall.

Armenian Helsinki Assembly member Isabella Sargssyan says: “When I
passed through the wire, some sense of freedom from fear and victory
over lawlessness came over me”.

Profile of next US ambassador to Armenia – news agency

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan
10 May 04

Prior to his taking up the appointment as US Ambassador to Armenia,
John Evans is profiled as a diplomat experienced in Russian and NATO
affairs but the news agency questions his ability in dealing with
a previous regional conflict. It notes that he was one of the first
diplomats to chart Vladimir Putin’s rise. Following are excerpts from
a report by the Armenian news agency Mediamax; subheadings inserted
editorially

On 6 May, the President of the United States George Bush nominated
to the Senate the candidacy of the new US Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary to Armenia – Director of the State Department’s
Office of Russian Affairs, John Marshall Evans. Despite the fact that
Evans’s official appointment, most likely, will take place in several
months we decided to present some facts from his biography.

Previous posts

John Evans is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia University. He
has served in US diplomatic missions in Iran (1971-74), Czechoslovakia
(1975-78), the Soviet Union (Moscow, 1981-83), at NATO Headquarters,
1983-86). In the State Department, he has served as a special assistant
to Secretaries Cyrus Vance and Edmund Muskie in different years.

In the mid-nineties, John Evans John Evans held the posts of Deputy
Head of the US Diplomatic Mission in Czech Republic and US Consul
General in Saint Petersburg. In 1997-1999, he headed the OSCE Mission
to Moldova. After returning to Washington, John Evans became Director
of the Office of Analysis for Russia and Eurasia in the Bureau of
Intelligence and Research. For the last few years John Evans has been
Director of the State Department’s Office of Russian Affairs. The
diplomat’s spouse, Donna Evans, is the executive director of the
World Affairs Council in Washington [D.C.]

Judging by the record of service, John Evans is a more experienced
diplomat than the current US Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway, who
will soon head the US diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan. At the same
time, if we compare the biographies of the two diplomats it becomes
clear that they have much in common – Ordway, like Evans worked in the
US diplomatic missions in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and NATO,
and before his appointment for the post of US Ambassador to Armenia
he was Deputy Head of the US Diplomatic Mission in Moscow.

Ambassadors with a “Russian past”

Yerevan’s opposition newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak [Armenian Times]
asserts that Washington sends ambassadors with a “Russian past”
to Yerevan as it “considers Armenia to be Russia’s vassal.”

“The fact that a diplomat specialized in Russia will take the post
of the US ambassador to Armenia testifies to the fact that Armenia
is perceived not as a separate geopolitical unit but as Russia’s
vassal. In order to work in Armenia the foreign diplomats should be
familiar with Russia,” Haykakan Zhamanak wrote on 6 May.

We can agree with the newspaper’s one opinion only – the US Ambassador
to Armenia should really be familiar with Russia. But this does not
mean that by appointing John Evans the United States “gave up on
Armenia” which they think to be “Russia’s patrimony.”

In our opinion the appointment of John Evans, on the contrary,
proves the United States’ growing interest towards Armenia. For the
last two years, Armenia and the USA have moved forward considerably
in their relations. The military cooperation between the two states,
which seemed unreal several years ago, has not only become a reality
but is also developing consecutively. Armenia-NATO relations,
the main inspirer of which is the United States, also develop
intensively. Armenia has already stated its intention to sign
Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO, and the Alliance’s
leadership does not hide that NATO’s policy in relation to the South
Caucasus will be formulated and voiced at the forthcoming NATO Summit
in Istanbul in June.

Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Ambassador Elizabeth Jones said in mid- April [2004] that “Armenia has
taken big steps to enhance its security relationship with the United
States and NATO in the past six months”. “We have strongly encouraged
the Armenian government to permit closer military cooperation with the
US and look forward to a positive response from Yerevan,” Jones said.

Thus, there is every reason to suppose that one of the priority
directions in John Evans’s work will become the development of
US-Armenian military cooperation and the provision of further close
relations between Armenia and NATO. It is natural that the diplomat
will need his acquaintance with Russia while solving these questions.

Early familiarity with Vladimir Putin

An interesting nuance – John Evans is one of those few American
diplomats who was personally familiar with Vladimir Putin at the time
when few people could have expected the former KGB Colonel to become
President of the Russian Federation. Putin and Evans got acquainted
in Saint Petersburg: Russia’s future President was Deputy Mayor at
that time and was in charge of foreign economic ties, and the future
US Ambassador to Armenia was Consul General of the United States in
Saint Petersburg.

Delivering a lecture on the situation in Russia in Mississippi
University in February 2002, John Evans said that he attentively
followed Putin’s career. Speaking about Russian leader’s policy, he
noted that Putin subordinated Russian Foreign Policy to economic goals
and for that reason he was tilting more to the West than to the East,
especially after 11 September 2001.

However, Evans’s favourable attitude towards Vladimir Putin did
not prevent him from making a number of harsh-worded statements in
relation to Russia in the autumn of 2002, the reason of which was the
flight of Russian military planes over Georgia’s territory. Evans’s
statement could hardly be called diplomatic: “we have some doubts
that the Russian highest civil government controls its armed forces.”

John Evans also said: “Due to the opportunities of collecting
information created by the USA during the Cold War, Washington at
once learned what happened to Kursk submarine on 12 August [2000]
and we immediately shared this information with the Russian side
but your military leadership did not disclose the truth for two
years.” “Part of Russian high military officialdom continuously lies
to the country’s leadership,” he said.

Solving conflicts

On the post of the US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans will have to
engage in solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as well. As at the
end of the nineties he headed the OSCE mission to Moldova, which was
actively involved in settling the conflict in the Dniester region,
we can assume that Evans possesses certain experience in this sphere.

Despite the fact that Evans left Moldova in 1999 he did not set aside
the Dniester region conflict. In any case, he discussed the Dniester
region conflict with the Chairman of International Committee of the
Federation Council Mikhail Margelov last November. Evans said in
particular that the memorandum suggested by Russia for settling the
situation in the Dniester region and the fact that both Moldova and
the region spoke for its adoption “gives hope for an earlier peaceful
settlement of the problems in the region.”

In spite of the fact that after this statement by John Evans the
Russian newspapers published articles headed “The USA approve of
the Russian plan” several days later the Russian initiative failed
as official Kishinev refused to sign the document suggested by
Russia, which had already been coordinated with Dniester region
authorities. Moscow was so irritated that Russian Foreign Minister
Igor Ivanov openly accused the United States, which was not informed
about the coming signing of the peace plan, for the failure of the
Russian peace initiative. Nobody explained the reason that made John
Evans support the Russian peace initiative several days before.

We can only hope that such “incidents” will not happen in the process
of Nagorno Karabakh settlement, the fate of which depends of Russia
and USA’s coordinated actions in many respects.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christopher Walker
(212) 514-8040 x19

FREEDOM HOUSE APPLAUDS TODAY’S U.S. DECISION TO INCREASE AID TO POOR
DEMOCRACIES

Millennium Challenge Corporation Decision Rewards Large Number of Developing
Countries with Good Democracy and Rights Records

NEW YORK, MAY 6, 2004: Freedom House today applauded the Millennium
Challenge Corporation’s selection of 16 developing countries eligible for
enhanced U.S. foreign assistance. The selection was based on a number of
criteria set out by the Administration, including commitments by those
nations’ governments to “ruling justly.”

“It is particularly heartening to see the U.S. government encouraging such a
large number of African countries that are adhering to basic democratic
practices,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor.

“The use of strict criteria in the allocation of new development aid will
mainly reward poor countries that adhere to basic human rights and
democratic practices. It will also avoid bolstering despotic regimes in
developing states with long records of human rights violations,” Windsor
added.

Freedom House has been a strong champion of the Millennium Challenge Account
concept, believing that it can help create incentives for improved
governance and democratic practices among the broad array of developing
countries. Initially, the list of eligible countries included such human
rights violators as Vietnam and Mauritania, and Freedom House is pleased
that the most problematic candidate countries have been dropped from this
new list.

Freedom House rankings are among the selection criteria applied in the
allocation of over $1 billion in foreign aid funding under the program.
Eight of the selected countries are rated Free, with a good record of
respect for basic rights, while the other eight eligible for funding are
Partly Free, with some adherence of basic rights practices, according to
Freedom House.

“As a first step, the MCC effort is to be applauded and the Administration
is to be congratulated for an important and innovative approach to foreign
aid,” Windsor added.

A full listing of MCA eligible countries and their political rights and
civil liberties ratings and categories follow. A rating of 1 represents the
highest adherence to human rights standards and democratic practices and 7
the poorest adherence to such standards, according to Freedom House’s annual
survey Freedom in the World 2004. Freedom in the World ratings are presented
below in the following order: Country (Political Rights Numerical Rating;
Civil Liberties Numerical Rating; Freedom Status of Free, Partly Free or Not
Free).

Armenia (4,4 Partly Free), Benin (2,2 Free), Bolivia (3,3 Partly Free), Cape
Verde (1,1, Free), Georgia (4,4 Partly Free), Ghana (2,2 Free), Honduras
(3,3 Partly Free), Lesotho (2,3 Free), Madagascar (3,3 Partly Free), Mali
(2,2 Free), Mongolia (2,2 Free), Mozambique (3,4 Partly Free), Nicaragua
(3,3 Partly Free), Senegal (2,3 Free), Sri Lanka (3,3 Partly Free), and
Vanuatu (2,2 Free).

—

ArmenPress
May 5 2004

CHURCH WARNS OF SECTS PROSELYTIZERS

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Church said today it has
arranged with the management of two Yerevan cinema houses, Moskva and
Nairi, which show Mel Gibson’s The Passions of the Christ that an
announcement will be made prior to each show to warn that young men
and women approaching the viewers after the end of the show and
offering brochures on religious topics have no relations with the
Armenian Apostolic Church and are members of different sects, who are
reported to be proselytizing near these cinema houses.