Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

RUSSIAN BORDER CLOSURE HITS PASSENGERS

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Sept 29 2004

Armenians are the main victims of the shutting of the chief
Georgian-Russian border crossing point

By Eteri Mamulashvili in the Daryal Gorge

For almost a month now 45 Armenian bus passengers have been waking
up every morning under the open skies of the Daryal Gorge in the
Georgian mountains, hoping that this will be their last day in this
beautiful spot.

The busload of passengers from Armenia had the misfortune to try
to cross this mountainous border into Russia just as the Russian
authorities closed it on September 3, the day the bloody Beslan tragedy
unfolded. Since then every day they have pestered the Georgian border
guards to relay back to them any news from their Russian colleagues.

“The Georgians told us that because of the Beslan tragedy the Russian
authorities are closing the border with Georgia for several days,”
said Viktoria Piroyeva, one of the passengers, in a despairing voice.
“We have been here since September 3 and every night we go to sleep
hoping that they will open the border on the next day.”

The bus, which was supposed to take them to the Northern Ossetian
capital Vladikavkaz, is uncomfortable even for sitting, but has now
become their sleeping quarters. The passengers manage to buy food
with the little money they still have with them. Fortunately, the
border checkpoint has a canteen where the passengers take turns to
eat. The nearby river Terghi has become their bathroom.

The Armenian bus is one of the few survivors of what three weeks ago
was a mass of vehicles trying to get into Russia.

“There were a lot of people during the first week after the border
closed, but then the numbers went down,” Georgi Kulumbegov deputy head
of the checkpoint, told IWPR. “Three buses with Armenian citizens,
most of whom were going to Russia to work, turned back a few days
ago. All those who could go back left Daryal a long time ago.”

The Georgian foreign ministry says it is in daily touch with its
Russian counterpart, seeking the opening of the frontier. All the
border guards can do is refer to a statement issued by the Russian
foreign ministry which says, “Because of the sharp deterioration of
the situation in the North Caucasus, the Russian side is temporarily
suspending international vehicle traffic on the Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars
section of the state frontier.”

Many of those stuck in the gorge have burned their bridges with home
and have nothing to go back to. Russian language teacher Susanna
Peranian sold her house in Yerevan two months ago and was moving to
live with her son in Moscow. Now her main concern is getting a daily
meal. “We barely manage to eat once a day, soon we probably won’t
have even that,” she said unable to hold back tears. “We are all
like prisoners, but even they live better than we do – prison cells,
at least, have beds.”

The Georgian government gave the trapped passengers a one-off gift
of humanitarian aid in the form of food, warm blankets, medicine and
first aid kits. But some of them are in failing health.

Elizaveta Abramovna, who worked as a doctor herself for 40 years,
was travelling to Russia to have an urgent operation on a tumour. For
the last week, she has been in acute pain.

“Would anyone care to explain to us why and for how long we are
going to be in this situation?” the 68-year-old Armenian asked aloud.
“Those who are doing this, they are the enemies of any people. Three
years ago a tragedy worse than in Beslan happened in New York, but
there the borders were not closed and people could freely move from
one country to another.”

As well as worsening the health of passengers, the long wait is
inflicting material damage.

Zia Bogirzade is an Azerbaijani citizen, who was transporting ten
tons of tomatoes to Moscow with her business partner and has spent
over three weeks at the closed border. Every morning Bogirzade throws
away several dozens of kilos of rotten tomatoes. “More than half the
cargo has gone bad,” she said. “A bit longer like this, and I will
probably leave my last tomato here.”.

Bogirzade said she had lost 10,000 US dollars already, and the losses
were growing by 50 dollars each day.

Russia’s land border with Azerbaijan has also been closed since the
crisis, with devastating results for the traders who usually shuttle
back and forth between the two countries.

This reporter managed to approach the Russian-controlled checkpoint
at Lars for twenty minutes and talk to the Russian border guards,
but they gave only one answer to all our questions, “We know nothing.”

An even more dramatic scene has formed on the Russian side of the
border, with the authorities there refusing to let through a huge
column of lorries and cars and thousands of passengers. About twenty
hauling trucks loaded with sugar and meat are standing in the neutral
zone. Georgian border guards say about 300 vehicles of various kinds,
mostly transit, are waiting on the other side of the frontier.

Although this is the Georgian-Russian border, check point officials
believe that Armenia is suffering the most.

“For them, Daryal is effectively the only road that links them with
Russia – practically, the ‘road of life’ because many Armenian citizens
work in Russia as seasonal labourers and travel by this road year in
year out,” said Kulumbegov.

And one other thing is now on everyone’s minds: the approach of
winter. The first snow fell in the gorge this year on September 12
and the longer the standoff continues, the greater the risk that the
weather will shut down the crossing point altogether.

“Now is not the time to ask who is right, who is to blame,” said
Kulumbegov. “Our main job is to help these people to get out of here
as soon as possible.”

Eteri Mamulashvili is a correspondent with the Georgian newspaper
24 Hours.

‘True Stories’ bring together Georgians and Abkhaz
By Keti Sikharulidze

The Messenger
Monday, September 27, 2004, #183 (0707)

HE Donald MacLaren, Jonathan Cohen,
Natia Mamistvalovi and Lena Cook

A presentation of audio diaries prepared by Georgian and Abkhaz
journalists was held on September 24. The diaries feature the lives
of ordinary people, and are intended to give an opportunity to those
whose voices are rarely heard to express their views.

In December 2003, Conciliation Resources launched a new audio
diaries project entitled “True Stories” in conjunction with several
Georgian and Abkhaz radio stations. It is supported financially by
the UK Government’s Global Conflict Prevention Pool and the Swedish
International Development Co-operation Agency.

Audio diaries are a new genre, created in the UK in the 1990s – one
that differs from other types of radio programs in that ordinary people
themselves record them, without any intervention from journalists.

When the diary has been recorded, the most poignant and moving extracts
(around of three-four minutes duration) are selected.

The authors of the diaries are ordinary people- teenagers and old
age pensioners, victims of domestic violence and representatives of
different minority groups – whose voices are rarely heard on the
radio and who are often marginalized in their own society and who
suffer from stereotyping and intolerance.

Over the last year and a half the Georgian and Abkhaz journalists
have collected over 400 diaries. Many of these have been exchanged
and a joint CD has recently been issued featuring the best of them.

In June this year the project moved onto a different level covering the
whole of the South Caucuses. Today audio diaries are being recorded in
Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as in Nagorno Karabakh. The best audio
diaries recorded in the regions are translated into four languages
and broadcast by 20 radio stations throughout the South Caucasus.

Conciliation Resources say that when this project began, the
Abkhaz journalists did not want to work together with Georgian
journalists. They said they would do this project, but alone and
without anybody’s help. But later they got interested in what the
Georgian journalists were doing and so started the exchange of diaries.

Later, journalists from the two sides met in Moscow for training:
Conciliation Resources say they soon developed good relations. Then
came a joint award from a radio festival in Rostov. After time,
the organization says, their attitudes have changed.

The UK Ambassador to Georgia Donald MacLaren of MacLaren opened the
presentation and thanked the host Heinrich Boll Foundation for playing
a major role in touching the lives of people affected by the conflict.

“Many people have wrestled with the Abkhaz question and many people are
trying to do so today. The limelight usually falls on the politicians,
the grand people who think that they have the answers. The importance
of what Heinrich Boll Stiftung and Conciliation Resources is trying to
do, is to focus not so much on grand people but on ordinary people,”
MacLaren said.

“Of course, politicians have to take a lead and come up with proposed
solutions. But the whole issue of Abkhazia is essentially an issue of
ordinary people. And there can be no reasonable and stable outcome
without the input of the people themselves – those who live in
Abkhazia, those who used to live in Abkhazia, and those who consider
Abkhazia as their home,” stated the ambassador.

He also added that the audio diaries project was an excellent example
of “giving those people who were often marginalized, often with a
sense of division and isolation from each other a voice.”

“The project of course focuses on Georgia-Abkhazia but it is important
also to recognize that the emphasis of this is not confined just to
that area but has a wider outlook and impact on the region as a whole,
of the South Caucasus,” the ambassador concluded.

Conciliation Resources’ Caucasus regional manager Jonathan Cohen stated
that the radio diary project is part of a wider engagement looking
at different aspects of how to move foreword in the Georgian-Abkhaz
conflict.

Cohen said that they have been working almost seven years with NGOs
and politicians, from both sides of the conflict “to look at what
resources there are to find a resolution. The diaries project has
been one of the most creative ways of trying to change the discourse
surrounding the conflict.”

“One of the most disturbing things that has happened in the last ten
years is that the people in the Caucasus have been forced to look
inside their society and not look at the society that are around them
as well. As a result of this they have lost contact with each other,”
stated Cohen, adding that the aim of the project was to reconnect
these societies.

Today more then 20-radio stations broadcast these diaries throughout
the South Caucasus. Only South Ossetia is not part of the project,
but the organizers hope that they will soon join the project as well.

NKR PRESIDENT RECEIVES SPECIAL ENVOY OF OSCE ACTING CHAIRMAN IN
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 25. ARMINFO. A day before at the NKR Permanent
Representation in the Republic of Armenia President of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghoukassian received Special Envoy of
the OSCE Acting Chairman in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Representative for
Karabakh conflict Philippe Dimitrov.

ARMINFO’s own correspondent in Stepanakert informs, during the meeting
the interlocutors have discussed the process of settlement of the
Karabakh conflict and the possible steps in this context.

Philippe Dimitrov has stressed the interest of the OSCE acting
chairman in the peaceful settlement of the conflict, expressing
necessity of activation of the process. In his turn, NKR president has
mentioned the importance of the issues of the status and security of
Nagorny Karabakh. Arkady Ghoukassian has expressed confidence that the
settlement of the conflict is impossible without taking into
consideration the interests of the NKR people. At the end of the
meeting the NKR president has confirmed the readiness of the Karabakh
side to solve the existing problems by a dialogue.

Retrouvailles arméniennes
Luc Perreault
La Presse
144%2C5537%2C092004%2C795478.php

Ils étaient cinq- deux gars, trois filles- à accompagner le
réalisateur Hagop Goudsouzian dans sa quête d’une Arménie
perdue. Interdits d’accès par la Syrie au désert de Deir-El-Zor où les
ossements des victimes du génocide arménien effleurent encore le sol,
c’est donc en Arménie même, à Erevan la capitale et dans quelques
villages, que le groupe a effectué ce retour aux sources. Le but:
retrouver les derniers survivants du génocide et recueillir- pour la
suite du monde, comme disait l’autre- leur témoignage.

Ces cinq participants ont tous des racines arméniennes. Pour
l’animateur Patrick Masbourian, l’héritage arménien se réduit
cependant à peu de chose, n’ayant jamais appris la langue de ses
ancêtres. Par contre, pour Lousnak Abdalian, connue pour ses chansons
qui pleurent le pays perdu, ce pèlerinage semblait le couronnement de
toute une démarche artistique. Entre ces deux extrêmes, on retrouve
une anthropologue (Gabriella Djerrahian), un professeur d’architecture
(Garo Shamlian) et une jeune étudiante (Martine Batani). Munis d’une
caméra numérique, ils prêtent main forte à l’occasion au directeur
photo, Alberto Feio. Pour Masbourian, un ancien de la Course autour du
monde, il s’agissait en somme d’une autre forme de retour aux sources.

Pour qui n’est pas familier avec le drame arménien- et le Québec à cet
égard ne prêche pas par l’exemple- ce film dégage une saveur
initiatique. On y apprend quelques faits simples. D’abord que le
premier génocide du 20e siècle a fait un million et demi de victimes
entre 1915 et 1920. Que ce pays a alors perdu la plus grande partie de
son territoire aux mains de la Turquie. Que ce pays émerge à peine
d’un régime communiste qui l’a coupé du reste du monde. Que ses
relations avec son puissant voisin turc sont à toutes fins pratiques
inexistantes. Que le mythique mont Ararat se trouve, hélas! en
territoire turc. Que le Canada, contrairement à la France, n’a pas
encore reconnu pleinement le génocide arménien. Mais qu’heureusement,
une épinette plantée par l’ex-maire Bourque orne le monument du
génocide à Erevan.

Là où le film atteint véritablement l’émotion, c’est quand il nous
présente ces vieilles centenaires encore vaillantes qui évoquent
devant leur jeune auditoire leurs malheurs vécus. Ces fragiles
souvenirs paraissent tout à coup aussi précieux que des reliques car
ce sont les dernières traces vivantes d’une tragédie dont plusieurs
s’obstinent encore à nier l’existence.

Parallèlement à ces retrouvailles, le réalisateur insère à l’occasion
ses propres images, celles notamment d’un autre voyage effectué dans
le désert aujourd’hui interdit d’accès. On a également droit à
quelques rares inserts de bandes d’actualité d’époque qui décrivent
les massacres. Et même à un petit bout d’une fiction hollywoodienne,
Ravished Armenia, tournée en 1919 et dépeignant le génocide.

Outre le désir de faire connaître au plus grand nombre un drame auquel
bien peu s’intéressent, Mon fils sera arménien nourrit un objectif
évident: permettre à la troisième génération des descendants arméniens
vivant au Québec de retrouver ses racines. Mission accomplie si on en
juge par Masbourian répandant les cendres de son grand-père en sol
natal ou par les larmes de Lousnak retrouvant dans le récit d’une
survivante le discours de sa propre grand-mère.

Mon fils sera arménien
Documentaire de Hagop Goudsouzian. 1 h 20.

Un groupe de jeunes Québécois d’origine
arménienne visite l’Arménie à la recherche de
survivants du génocide.

Un retour aux sources souvent émouvant mais avant tout instructif.

CENN — SEPTEMBER 24, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. Web-based Consultation Tool
2. `Increasing Public Awareness and Participation in the Monitoring of
Safety Standards at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’
3. The 3rd World Youth Congress
4. Lula Calls For Review Of World Bank, IMF Practices
5. Project on Caspian Birds Protection Implementing
6. BTC Project Spends $4 Mln Daily
7. ATP Executive Director Addresses UN DPI NGO Conference
8. By Late September Armenia to Present its Proposals on Millennium
Challenges Program
9. Armenian Company Awarded Quality Star
10. Deputy Parliament Speaker Says Constitutional Amendments Based on
Human Rights Respect
11. The Other Trees Are Next in Line
12. The Court Backs the Yerevan Mayor

1. WEB-BASED CONSULTATION TOOL

Dear Colleague:

As part of our consultation process for IFC’s Update of the Safeguard
Polices and the Review of the Disclosure Policy, we have developed
web-based consultation tool to receive feedback on the new Policy and
Performance Standards and the Disclosure Concept Paper.

Instructions on how to register for the online consultation is available
on the following address: for IFC
online consultation.doc

Kenneth Chin
Environment & Social Development Department
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
tel: 202 473 9581

2. `INCREASING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND PARTICIPATION IN THE MONITORING OF
SAFETY STANDARDS AT THE ARMENIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT’
October 21-22, 2004

Caucasus Environmental NGO Network Regional Office in Armenia will hold
the seminar `Increasing Public Awareness and Participation in the
Monitoring of Safety Standards at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’ on
October 21-22, 2004. The representatives of environmental NGOs in
Armenia can participate in the seminar. The priority will be given to
organizations from regional marzes. The seminar’s language is Russian.
Participants need an advanced registration; the number of participants
is limited. For further information, please contact.

Tel.: (3741) 51 26 94, 51-26-93, Fax: (3741) 51 26 95 E-mail:
[email protected]

3. THE 3RD WORLD YOUTH CONGRESS

Dear All,

The application form for The 3rd World Youth Congress is now online. We
are receiving a lot of applications as we speak so get yours in soon.

If you have difficulties applying online there will be a downloadable
version on the website soon.

Looking forward to seeing you all there in 2005.

Ray Bugg
Media and Communications Manager
World Youth Congress 2005
Tel: 0131 244 7425
Mobile 07957 261178
[email protected]

4. LULA CALLS FOR REVIEW OF WORLD BANK, IMF PRACTICES

Source: World Bank Press Review September 22, 204)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday asked the
United Nations to review the way multilateral funding organizations
work, saying that sometimes, instead of solving a crisis, they become a
“part of the problem,” reports EFE News Service.

As has been customary since the first General Assembly meeting 59 years
ago, the Brazilian president was the first to step to the podium. His
address focused on the need to help to world’s most impoverished
peoples. Lula said the moment has come for implementing “changes” in the
way in which multilateral bodies, such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, extend their loans if “just and sustainable
development” is to be achieved. The lenders “were created to provide
solutions, but on occasion, by virtue of their excessive strictness,
they become part of the problem, making it necessary to review their
modus operandi so as to restore their original goals,” Lula said.

Reuters explains that Brazil, the IMF’s biggest borrower and Latin
America’s largest economy, has been pushing for a change in IMF loan
programs that would allow infrastructure investments to be excluded from
calculations of fiscal targets. The IMF is studying the idea. “The issue
is to adjust their focus to development, thus restoring their original
objective.” Lula said. “The International Monetary Fund should be able
to provide the guarantee and the liquidity which are necessary for
productive investments – especially in infrastructure, housing and
sanitation – and which can also restore the poor countries’ capacity to
pay.”

Xinhua further notes the first day of the General Assembly meeting ended
with leaders from African countries pressing for greater efforts to
attain the development goals set at the Millennium Summit four years
ago. Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa praised Denmark,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden for consistently meeting
the long-established UN target of allocating at least 0.7 percent of
gross national product of rich countries as official development
assistance (ODA) to developing countries. “We urge the other rich
countries to produce timetables to meet this long overdue target, to
have coherent development policies, and to earnestly and deliberately
build and nurture a national consciousness and consensus on the global
war on poverty,” said Mkapa.

Agence France Presse meanwhile reports the European Commission threw its
weight Tuesday behind calls for an international tax to fight poverty
and hunger but remained skeptical that the plans would go any further.
The idea won renewed backing Monday from French President Jacques Chirac
and Lula, who outlined “radically new” proposals to combat the negative
effects of globalization at a conference in New York. “As a matter of
ideology, the Commission supports anything that can move globally in the
direction of establishing funding sources for public good,” said EU
development commissioner Paul Nielson. Such initiatives could make
“international society function as society,” he added. But he lamented:
“So far, none of those ideas has gathered enough support to move
beyond the stage of being ideas.”

The Associated Press finally adds that protesters gathered outside the
US Treasury Department Tuesday to call for a 100 percent elimination of
debt for impoverished countries that owe money to the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund. About 35 people met during their lunch hour
to listen to speakers, rally and discuss their hope that debt
cancellation for over 30 countries might be agreed upon at an Oct. 1
meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the world’s
major industrialized nations and at World Bank and IMF meetings Oct.
2-3. The United States is pushing a plan for some debt elimination.
Marie Clarke, National Coordinator of Jubilee USA Network, said that
proposal is “a good start,” but she urged supporters to continue their
focus on the issue in case the debt cancellation was not agreed upon, or
if cutting aid to the countries saved the funds.

5. PROJECT ON CASPIAN BIRDS PROTECTION IMPLEMENTING

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, AzerTag,
September 22, 2004

Public association for ecology and birds protection of Azerbaijan
prepared a project `Protection of species of water and wader birds on
Azerbaijan waterside of the Caspian Sea’.

According to the project, species of water and wader birds, their
dwelling, place of their main accumulation will be determined,
anthropogenic influence on birds studied, territories to be polluted in
the course of offshore accidents researched, plans of arrangement linked
with birds protection prepared as well, Chairman of the association
Ilyas Babayev told AzerTAj correspondent.

Bp and its partners for Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline allocated funds
in 18 thousand US dollars for project implementation within a year.

6. BTC PROJECT SPENDS $4 MLN DAILY

Source: State Telegraph Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, AzerTag,
September 23, 2004

BP-Azerbaijan has spent $686 million out of the total $1 billion
scheduled in 2004 for the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline to be launched in the first half of the next year. The work in
three countries the pipeline will pass through cost $4 million per day.

7. ATP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADDRESSES UN DPI NGO CONFERENCE

ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
65 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
617-926-8733
[email protected]

ATP Executive Director Addresses UN DPI NGO Conference

WATERTOWN, MA–Armenia Tree Project (ATP) Executive Director Jeff
Masarjian participated this week in a panel held as part of the 57th
annual United Nations Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental
Organization Conference at the UN headquarters in New York. The
conference, titled “Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes
Action,” is taking place from September 8-10.

The focus of the conference is the role of NGOs as well as civil society
and governments for implementing the eight Millennium Development Goals
adopted by the UN in 2000. ATP was invited to participate in the
conference by the Armenian General Benevolent Union in association with
Rotary International, NGO Committee on Human Rights, Peace Action, and
the World Federation for Mental Health.

At the September 8 panel discussion with representatives of two other
NGOs, titled “Overcoming Obstacles to Economic Growth and Community
Development: The Role of Civil Society,” Mr. Masarjian outlined the ways
that ATP reforestation efforts are addressing many of the UN Millennium
Development Goals. The following is an abridged text of Mr. Masarjian’s
speech:

ATP Programs Contribute to Fulfillment of UN Millennium Goals in Armenia
By Jeff Masarjian, Armenia Tree Project Executive Director

Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 in response to the massive
felling of trees for fuel during the harsh winters of the early 1990s.
The mission of Armenia Tree Project is to improve the human, economic,
and environmental conditions of Armenia through the planting of trees,
aiding those with the fewest resources first.

Forests and trees are important and necessary components for maintaining
the environmental and economic infrastructure of a nation. They clean
the atmosphere, absorbing carbon dioxide and pollutants, while
simultaneously releasing oxygen. They attract and retain moisture, both
in the air and the soil, helping to regulate and stabilize the climate.
They prevent erosion and landslides, while retaining precious topsoil,
which is otherwise washed away with the rain, becoming silt in rivers,
streams and lakes, choking plant and animal life.

Forests also provide habitats for a diverse array of flora and fauna.
Armenia is home to over 3,600 species of flowering plants, many of which
are endangered and exist only in the ecosystems provided by the
dwindling forests.

>From 1994 – 2002, Armenia Tree Project focused its activities on
creating jobs through re-greening public spaces, many of which were
littered with the stumps of sacrificed trees. ATP works closely with the
residents of local institutions, such as schools, senior centers,
hospitals, and orphanages, as well as neighborhoods.

Once accepted as an ATP site, residents receive the training and tools
they need to plant and tend the trees. The relationship is based upon a
contract between ATP and the recipient institution or group, which
agrees to replace the trees at its own expense if less than 70 percent
survive.

By appealing to residents’ self interest, and using informal incentives
to promote compliance with the agreement, ATP is fostering a growing
respect for the environment through traditional value systems and needs
of the community. Residents–who had previously been plagued with
despair, while expecting the government or others to do something for
them to improve their lot–are now in a position of taking action to
make a direct impact on their immediate environment.

To date, ATP has assisted community residents in planting over 375,000
trees at 477 sites in every region of Armenia through our Community Tree
Planting program. ATP works closely with community schools to develop
environmental lessons, which are not typically part of the standard
curriculum.

The restoration of urban green spaces is the goal of ATP’s Coppicing
Program, which employs several hundred Armenians each year in seasonal
work. Coppicing is a forestry technique by which tree stumps with intact
root systems are trimmed of shoots, leaving the strongest one to grow
into an exact replica of the original tree.

To date, ATP staff has supervised the restoration of 760 acres of land
at several sites, including the Armenian Genocide Memorial, Botanical
Gardens, Victory Park, and Paros Hill, all located in Yerevan. Over
155,000 trees have been restored through ATP’s coppicing program since
1999.

The trees ATP supplies to community sites are propagated from seeds and
cuttings in our two state-of-the-art nurseries, founded in 1996 and 1998
in the refugee villages of Karin and Khatchpar. The nurseries’ 29
employees are responsible for the production of 50,000 trees each year
for planting at community sites.

The 53 species of trees growing in our nurseries are all-indigenous to
Armenia, and were chosen for their hardiness in surviving Armenia’s
harsh climate. With the opening of the new Michael and Virginia Ohanian
Environmental Education Center at ATP’s nursery in Karin village,
students from the State Agricultural Academy and elsewhere will attend
multi-media seminars and receive hands-on field practice with our staff.

In 2001, in response to a growing body of evidence published in
documents by the UN, the World Bank, and other sources regarding the
immediate and critical state of Armenia’s deforestation and path towards
desertification, ATP initiated a series of strategic planning sessions
to devise new interventions that might have a greater impact for the
people and land of Armenia.

We realized that we needed to devise innovative new programs which would
not only plant considerably more trees, but also address the widespread
poverty and despair suffered by nearly half of all Armenians. Many
Armenians live in rural villages, and are forced to strip the
surrounding forests of trees for heating and cooking fuel, as well as
for sale to commercial interests.

In Fall 2002, ATP met with the leaders of Aygut, a small, slowly dying
Armenian refugee village, comprised of 290 families. Youth and young
adults would routinely leave seeking opportunities elsewhere, and elders
longed for their lost homes and villages in Azerbaijan.

The school principal spoke of a plot of land near the river which she
had hoped would someday be an orchard, supplying income to purchase
badly needed school supplies. ATP agreed to provide technical assistance
and 500 fruit and nut trees for the site, if residents could collaborate
together to clear the land, build irrigation channels and a road to the
site, and fence it in for protection from livestock. ATP also developed
an environmental curriculum for the school and trained teachers in
presenting it.

The members of the Aygut community succeeded in completing their part of
the contract within weeks of our initial meeting. By Spring 2003, 500
fruit and nut trees were planted by school children and adults, assisted
by the US Ambassador to Armenia, John Ordway, and other invitees, who
celebrated Earth Day at the new Aygut School orchard on April 22. I’m
very happy to report that I observed the first cherries blossoming on
the trees this summer.

Seventeen families also signed up to participate in a pilot project
whereby they would be trained to propagate several thousand tree seeds,
collected locally, in newly developed backyard nurseries. For each
surviving seedling that the participant will then plant in the forest,
ATP will provide a set payment.

Seven species of local tree seeds are currently being propagated, and
some have already reached a height of 12 inches and may be out planted
this fall. In this, the pilot phase of the project, 20,000 seedlings are
being grown; we hope to increase this 10 fold over the next two years by
expanding this micro-enterprise opportunity to more residents in Aygut
and other villages.

This project can potentially increase the annual income of participating
families several times over, without negatively impacting the amount of
land needed for subsistence farming. In addition, because the trees are
grown using a short-term rotation cycle of 12-18 months, the per-unit
cost is less than in our traditional nurseries, creating a win-win
situation for everyone.

There are 13 villages in the river valley where Aygut is located,
comprising 6,000 people. ATP plans to replicate programming in three new
villages in 2005, using the same methodology to promote economic,
ecological, social, and cultural development. We expect that the fruit
produced in this valley will not only contribute to residents’ food
security, but also attract the interest of businesses involved in fruit
juice production and export.

Early on in our involvement with the residents of Aygut, it became clear
that the humanitarian and development needs of this village were far
beyond ATP’s individual capacity. We took a very collaborative approach
to our work in the village, inviting other international aid
organizations and NGOs to visit the village and observe the progress
achieved over the past year.

Organizations such as UN World Food Program, UNDP, Heifer International,
Project Harmony, USDA, Peace Corps, Satsil, and Jinishian Family
Foundation, among others, have contributed expertise and support in
furthering the social and economic development of Aygut.

The Mayor recently reported that since ATP initiated programming there,
emigration from the village has halted, there has been a noticeable
improvement in the overall demeanor and perspective of villagers, and
there was even a record number of births, all indicators of a growing
sense of hope and optimism.

In addition to this innovative community development and reforestation
programming, ATP this year partnered with a local environmental NGO,
called Tsiatsan, in the city of Vanadzor, to build a six hectare
reforestation nursery that has the capacity to produce over one million
trees each year beginning in 2006. These trees will be used to reforest
the devastated hillsides around the city, which have become subject to
serious erosion and landslides over the past 13 years.

In conclusion, Armenia Tree Project is implementing its mission to
protect and restore Armenia’s forests through a unique combination of
programming that aims to plant a growing number of trees each year,
while providing opportunities for employment, sustainable economic
development, training and education.

Our goal is to empower residents to become stewards of their environment
while also enhancing their standard of living and hopes for their
children’s future. It is our hope that our decentralized approach to
developing an environmental ethic based on education, action, and
self-determination will eventually lead to a national and even regional
commitment to environmental protection and enforcement of sustainable
practice.

8. BY LATE SEPTEMBER ARMENIA TO PRESENT ITS PROPOSALS ON MILLENNIUM
CHALLENGES PROGRAM

Source: /ARKA/, September 22, 2004

By late September Armenia to present its proposals to the American side
on Millennium Challenges program.

According to the information of the Armenian Government Public and Press
Relations Department Armenian PM Andranik Manukyan during his meeting
with Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of the US to Armenia
His Excellency John Marshall Evans. Margaryan stated that the Trustee
Council of Armenian Program of Foundation Millennium Challenges made
wide discussions of the proposals with business circles and public
organizations of the country. In PM’s opinion, Armenia tends toward
strengthening of positive tendencies recorded in bilateral relations,
especially when new areas of cooperation emerge, the most important of
which is inclusion of Armenia into Millennium Challenges.

In his turn, the Ambassador added that after approval by the foundation
of the Armenian proposals, there would be new opportunities for further
cooperation.

As it is mentioned in the press release, touching upon the regional
issues, the sides mentioned interests of two nations in establishing
peace, stability and prosperity on the South Caucasus. In this relation
they mentioned the necessity of further enhancement of Armenian-US
economic and political relations attaching importance to activity of
Armenian-US Intergovernmental working group on economic issues (USATAF).

Armenia was included in 16 countries list, which will be assisted by the
US in implementation economic and democratic reforms in the frames of
Millennium Challenges. The list contains mainly African, Asian, Latin
American nations as well as USSR two former republics – Armenia and
Georgia. For the implementation of the program the US envisages USD 1b
and already requested from the US Congress to allocate additional USD
2.5b for the implementation of the program in the next year.

9. ARMENIAN COMPANY AWARDED QUALITY STAR

Source: ArmenPress, September 22, 2004

Lyudmila and Hamazasp Harutunians, a couple from the town of Hrazdan,
who established and run Vordi Armen company, have been invited by
Quality Stars international convention to participate in its annual
October 11 presentation in Paris.

Vordi Armen was one of 70 companies worldwide competing for the Quality
Star. Alfonso Kassale, the president of Quality Stars, said in the
invitation letter that awarding the Quality Star to the Armenian company
is a good opportunity for it to compete in the international market and
find new partners.

Vordi Armen produces dairy products and is able to process daily around
5 tons of milk, which it buys from farmers who have 2-3 cows. The
company was founded with the help of the US Department of Agriculture
Armenia office.

10. DEPUTY PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SAYS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS BASED ON
HUMAN RIGHTS RESPECT

Source: ArmenPress, September 22, 2004

Deputy parliament chairman Tigran Torosian praised today the working
Constitution, passed in 1995, saying it has contributed significantly to
the democracy development and establishment of government institutions,
but added that it has some shortcoming constraining the country’s
progress, which he said result from Armenia’s scanty experience in
constitutional right and practice back in 1995.

He said the expected constitutional amendments, proposed by the ruling
majority, are based on constitutional guarantees ensuring the citizens’
right to exercise their freedoms. He also emphasized a clause in the
draft constitution that empowers the legislature with the right to elect
the human rights defender, vesting him or her with the power to address
to the Constitutional Court for protection of citizens’ rights.

Another important clause, according to Torosian are a chain of
amendments aimed to reform the judicial system, under which the Justice
Council, headed now by the president of the country, will be immune from
the executive power’s influence. Under the clause the Council will be
headed by one of its members. The deputy parliament chairman also said
the package of amendments seeks to create a balance among power
branches. Some other changes are expected also to introduce more clarity
in respect to local self-management bodies. Another draft amendment
would allow the parliament to endorse or reject a prime minister
nominated by the president, but the latter would be empowered to
dissolve it if his candidacies are rejected by lawmakers for three
consecutive times.

Torosian said two other packages of alternative constitutional reforms,
proposed by Arshak Sadoyan and the United Labor Party will be also
discussed in the parliament. He said the conclusion of the Council of
Europe Venice Commission on the amendments, designed by the majority,
would arrive in early October.

11. THE OTHER TREES ARE NEXT IN LINE

Source: Investigative Journalists of Armenia / HETQ Online, 22 September
2004

In Aigedzor, down the street from the former building of Yerevan State
University’s Department of Economics, right on the edge the gorge, there
are thick-trunked mulberry trees lying on the ground, chopped into
pieces. There are only trucks and cars at this construction site, not a
living soul. I asked a woman from a neighboring building, “Do you know
who this land belongs to?”

“Dear boy, it’s none of my business. I stay out of trouble [keep harm
and misfortune away]. You’ve got no business here, either. You’d better
get out of here. Don’t you see what is going on?”

Then I asked, “Didn’t you use to come here sometimes?”

“Of course we did. We would come and pick mulberries and have a rest;
the kids would play.”

Next to this construction site stand the huge private houses of our
state officials, parliament members, prosecutors, and businessmen. Does
it make any difference which one of them owns which property? These
mulberry trees are already lying on the ground; the others are next in
line.

12. THE COURT BACKS THE YEREVAN MAYOR

Source: Investigative Journalists of Armenia / HETQ Online, 22 September
2004

“We will not give you information…”

On September 16, 2004 the Court of Appeal on Civil Cases of the Republic
of Armenia heard the suit brought by the NGO Investigative Journalists
of Armenia (IJA) against the Office of the Mayor of Yerevan. Last
October, IJA chairman Edik Baghdasaryan had requested permission from
Mayor Yervand Zakharyan to see the decisions regarding land allocations
in the public park surrounding Yerevan ‘s Opera House taken from 1997 to
2003 by former mayors Vano Siradeghyan, Suren Abrahamyan, Albert
Bazeyan, and Robert Nazaryan.

Although judges’ chambers are technically off limits, it’s common in
Armenian courts for certain persons to have unimpeded access. The very
able lawyer from the Mayor’s Office, Karine Danielyan, did not miss the
opportunity to take advantage of this national tradition, and after
shooting a glare at the enemy, rushed into the judges’ chambers. After
receiving final assurances that the outcome was predetermined, she came
back, took her seat, produced a half-page note from a thick file of
documents, and handed it to the bench. In response to surprised looks,
she pronounced: “We will not give it to you.” The rest is up to the
court; it can justify its refusal however it wishes.

The three judges of the Court of Appeal on Civil Cases (Noyem Hovsepyan,
presiding) pretended to listen carefully to the arguments of the
plaintiff’s lawyer, Ara Zohrabyan. “In accordance with Article 24 of the
Constitution of Armenia, Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Articles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of
the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in
Decision-Making, and Access to Justice on environmental Matters(the
Orhus Convention), and Articles 3, 4 and 6 of the Law on the Procedure
of Consideration of the Proposals, Appeals and Complains of the Citizens
of Armenia, applicants have the right to demand information and
respondents are obliged to provide information…”.

During the hearing of the suit brought by the IJA against the Yerevan
Mayor’s Office in the Court of First Instance of the Kentron and
Nork-Marash Communities of Yerevan, Judge Gayane Karakhanyan had
recommended that the journalists apply to the mayor’s office again and
request information on specific establishments. In his new appeal to
Mayor Yervand Zakharyan, Edik Baghdasaryan listed the names of fifteen
organizations that had been granted land in mayoral decisions and
requested that he be given copies of these decisions. In response, the
IJA received a letter signed by the head of the legal department of the
Mayor’s Office, A. Sargisyan, stating that since a lawsuit was in
progress the mayor’s office would address the issue “after the court
hearing is over”. Mayor’s Office lawyer Karine Danielyan produced a
different response to our inquiry on September 16 th. “The file of
documents related to businesses that do construction work must include
the State Register licenses given to these organizations. But the names
of the founders of the organizations are not mentioned in the licenses;
therefore the Mayor’s Office cannot provide information about land
allocations to these persons.”

Ara Zohrabyan drew the court’s attention to the fact that this response
has nothing to do with the request – the association had not requested
the “names of the founders”. The judges were well aware of this, of
course, but when adinistrative interests clash with public interests and
morals, administrators always win. This judgement was no exception. What
difference will one more unlawful verdict make? Especially when the
interests of the regime are at stake.

—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

Envoy to Azerbaijan upholds USA’s regional policy

Zerkalo, Baku
11 Sep 04

The US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish, is satisfied with
progress achieved by the OSCE Minsk Group in settling the
Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. Only peaceful means are acceptable for
restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Harnish said in an
interview to the Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo to sum up the results
of his first year in office. Harnish also said he sees no reason for
the USA to excuse itself for its policy on Karabakh. He dismisses
criticism by Azerbaijani opposition leaders blaming their failure in
the 2003 presidential elections on the USA which “sacrificed democracy
for the sake of stability in Azerbaijan”. The ambassador said he was
pleased with progress in US-Azerbaijani anti-terror, military and
economic cooperation over the past year, as well as with US policy in
the region. The following is the text of R. Mirqadirov and
E. Mahmudov interview with Reno Harnish by Azerbaijani newspaper
Zerkalo on 11 September headlined “‘The USA doesn’t see why and for
what it should be apologetic,’ US ambassador Reno Harnish said
commenting on America’s policy as a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Reno Harnish, visited Zerkalo this
week. To speak figuratively, it was a kind of “report and elections
meeting” for Mr Harnish. Harnish accomplished the first year of his
diplomatic service in Baku last August. The year was pretty hard and
controversial. As a result, our talk with Mr Ambassador was getting
tense at some points. Like in any “report and elections meeting”, the
floor was first given to the “main culprit”.

Last year’s achievements

[Harnish] My wife and I have been living and working in Azerbaijan for
a whole year now. It’s a beautiful country, it’s very nice to work and
live here. It has sights to see and places to relax. I can say right
at the start that relations between Azerbaijan and the USA got even
stronger during that year. President Ilham Aliyev met Secretary of
State Colin Powell, and Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld visited
Azerbaijan on two occasions. Apart from this, US Deputy Secretary of
State Richard Armitage and several delegations of high-ranking
representatives of the administration paid visits to your state.
Furthermore, the well-known US Senator McCain visited Baku and,
lastly, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and George Bush met in Istanbul.

Speaking about mutual relations between our states, I want to point
out that the USA welcomes the policy of Azerbaijan’s Turkish-style
integration into Western structures. From this point of view, the USA
would like to see Azerbaijan stepping up and expanding its integration
into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. US-Azerbaijani relations
are expanding in several directions. The first one is the fight
against international terrorism. The USA started this struggle three
years ago, on 11 September. Terrorism has one and the same face
everywhere. Suffice it to recall the recent blasts in Spain after
tragic events in other states and finally the actions committed in
Russia last week.

We are glad to see Azerbaijan being perfectly conscious of its
national interests. The National Security Ministry’s recent official
statement citing all cases of arrests of terrorists on Azerbaijani
territory proves this once again.

Second, we’ve achieved great success and done a lot to create an
East-West energy corridor. Back in February, the USA applied much
effort to provide funding for this project. Now we’re doing our utmost
to have the construction of the main export pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan completed on time. We’re going to further
cooperate with Azerbaijan in implementing energy projects. This
applies both to the project to transport Kazakh oil using the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and exporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe.

Third, we actively cooperate with Azerbaijan in settling the Karabakh
conflict. During these years, that is since the presidential elections
in Azerbaijan and Armenia, we’ve stepped up our mediatory efforts in
settling the Karabakh conflict. The USA has repeatedly stated that it
does not recognize Nagornyy Karabakh’s independence. The USA has also
repeatedly stated its support for the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. We jointly tried to do away with the Saddam Husayn regime
and now we are actively working together to form independent bodies of
state power in Iraq.

Fourth, we have close cooperation in matters of security. We’ve
organized training for Azerbaijani peacekeepers. Iraq is the most
brilliant proof of our cooperation in this domain. Azerbaijan has also
gained other dividends from taking part in peacekeeping operations in
Iraq. Your military have gained hands-on experience of dealing with
NATO standards. Both President Ilham Aliyev and practically all
political parties have pointed out that this benefits Azerbaijan’s
national interests.

Fifth, the USA wants to see Azerbaijan as a democratic state with a
well developed market economy. To achieve these two goals, we need to
cooperate in many areas. Out of 75m dollars allocated for Azerbaijan
in US aid, more than 30m dollars is going into efforts to develop
democratic processes in Azerbaijan. We financed the visit of
international observers to the presidential elections, organized
courses for representatives of the electoral administration and local
observers. Now we suggest implementing other programmes related to the
forthcoming municipal elections.

We welcome the programme for regional development and we’ve drawn up
projects to help its implementation. We are ready to support any
initiatives to develop private enterprises in Azerbaijan. We also want
to help Azerbaijan organize the management of oil revenues. We are
going to offer technical aid to relevant state bodies in implementing
this goal. We’re ready to help the Azerbaijani government to fight
corruption. This evil is one of the main factors hampering economic
development.

Overall, I am satisfied with the job done during this year.

Current US-Azerbaijani relations

[Correspondent] Rumours have been actively circulated of late about
preparations for Ilham Aliyev’s visit to the USA. Is this information
true?

[Harnish] If the president of Azerbaijan pays an official visit to the
USA in the future, it will benefit both states. Earlier I spoke about
areas of US-Azerbaijani cooperation. A visit by Ilham Aliyev and
several leading ministers of the government would give an additional
impetus to our cooperation. Yet I don’t think that such a visit could
take place in the near future while the presidential campaign is under
way in the USA; but I support the idea of such a visit and I’d like it
to take place as soon as possible.

[Correspondent] Are there any specific negotiations going on to this
effect?

[Harnish] No. As I said before, the USA is on the eve of presidential
elections. It would be wrong to plan a visit in such circumstances.

[Correspondent] We know that a change of power would hardly bring
about drastic change in US policy towards Azerbaijan. Will there be at
least a shift in accents: will some new nuances emerge, if someone
other than Bush is elected as the president? Especially in view of the
fact that Mr Kerry authored, among others, Section 907 [to the Freedom
Support Act banning US aid to the Azerbaijani government in connection
with the Karabakh conflict]?

[Harnish] Irrespective of what happened in the past, our current
relations are based on existing realities and practical
interests. When Stephen Mann [US State Department envoy for Caspian
energy issues] was asked about the Karabakh conflict, he said that the
US attitude to this problem is based on professional and practical
interests. Therefore, it would be wrong to think that election results
might terminate everything. I could cite more examples. Both the Democ
rats and the Republicans are grateful to Azerbaijan for our joint
struggle against terrorism.

Both the Democrat and Republican administrations contributed to
implementing the East-West energy corridor. Cooperation in security
and peacekeeping activity is a priority in US foreign policy,
therefore the US Congress has supported every step along these
lines. This is why I think that, whatever the election results, the US
attitude to Azerbaijan won’t change.

No plans for US forces in Azerbaijan

[Correspondent] Putin and Bush once signed a joint declaration on the
South Caucasus stating that the USA and Russia would cooperate in this
region, including for the sake of a Karabakh settlement. Nonetheless,
speaking in a recent interview to the Turkish media, the Russian
president said it was inadmissible for states that don’t belong to
this region to take part in settling conflicts in the region. Could
one say that a period of rivalry among the USA, Russia and Europe is
starting in the region?

[Harnish] The government of my country sees no serious reasons for
rivalry in this region. We’re ready to cooperate with Russia to
transform the South Caucasus into a region where peace, stability and
prosperity prevail. Joint efforts that the three co-chairmen of the
OSCE Minsk Group [from the USA, France and Russia] are taking to
settle the Karabakh conflict are a graphic confirmation of
this. Another uniting factor is our desire to see the Caspian Sea
region as environmentally clean, secure and free of weapons of mass
destruction. This is why we support with heart and soul all agreements
signed between Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan. We also welcome all
measures taken by the Azerbaijani government to ensure security in the
part of the Caspian Sea that belongs to your state.

No doubt, we are working together both to settle the Karabakh conflict
and the issue of Caspian Sea delimitation. Therefore, I want to say
again that we see no reasons for rivalry. On the contrary, we want
Russia and Turkey to step up their participation in all these
initiatives and make our effort more effective.

We and I think the other co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group are all
interested in holding a meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan
and Armenia in Astana. This proves once again that the US actions are
free of competitive spirit with respect to anyone in this region.

[Correspondent] There’s much talk in the world, above all in Russia,
about US forces relocating from western Europe to other regions. Is
there any threat to Azerbaijan of US bases emerging in the territory
of our state?

[Harnish] I don’t think that US bases may appear here. Speaking at his
news conferences in Baku, [chief of staff of the US forces in Europe]
Gen Charles Wald stated this quite clearly, if I’m not mistaken, on
four occasions. The USA is interested in relocating its forces
stationed in Germany closer to regions posing a threat of
international terrorism. But the possibility of relocating those
forces to Azerbaijan is not even being discussed at the moment.

Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity

[Correspondent] You have said that the USA supports Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity. Nonetheless, during annual discussions by the
UN on its principles of cooperation with the OSCE, all Western states
including the USA either come out against or abstain from voting on
Azerbaijan’s amendment that the Karabakh conflict should be settled
with due regard for the territorial integrity of our state. Does this
mean that the USA finds it possible to settle the conflict
disregarding the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan?

[Harnish] The USA has voted for all of the four UN Security Council
resolutions on a Karabakh settlement laying down the international
community’s attitude to the problem the way it was in that time
span. This is a fact. The USA took part in the Lisbon summit voting
for the principles underlying the statement by the present OSCE
chairman. The principles being officially supported by the USA in this
matter are absolutely clear. However, as Stephen Mann said, being
members of the OSCE Minsk Group, we should act within the limits of
our mandate. The mandate consists in that we must find an option for a
fair and lasting conflict settlement. Moreover, it should be kept in
mind that no-one ever appointed the USA as an arbiter authorized to
decide at its own discretion on the way this conflict should be
settled. Our official position is clear but our practical steps
proceed from the OSCE Minsk Group mandate inasmuch as a settlement to
the Karabakh conflict would meet the interests of the USA.

We recently organized a meeting at my residence for the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen with Azerbaijani public representatives and account
to the audience on the job done. Some representatives of the
Azerbaijani public demanded instant results and voiced a lot of
reproaches and accusations against the co-chairmen. They wanted
instant results as though the latter were gods. However, living in a
real world we can hardly expect some higher force to settle our
problems.

No to a new war

[Correspondent] The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen keep saying that they
will support any decision by the two sides to the conflict. Will the
USA support war as a conflict settlement option, if the sides decide
to clear the air in this particular way?

[Harnish] I think it would be tragic both for Azerbaijan and the
entire Caucasus. The latest war left you with a death toll of 30,000,
another 750,000 became refugees or displaced persons. It should be
taken into account that the level of armaments on both sides was much
lower at that time both in terms of quantity and quality. Today each
side has a well-armed army with a strength of about 60,000. So if
hostilities are resumed, they will inflict much more casualties than
the previous war. Moreover, they will put paid to all economic
progress achieved since 1991. There’s no need to repeat the tragedy.

In a short span of time, the foreign ministers had four meetings with
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen. The presidents have met twice and,
as far as I understood, they are going to continue their consultations
[during a CIS summit] in Astana. The meeting in Prague has proved to
be very fruitful: the sides started discussing specific themes,
according to [Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister] Elmar Mammadyarov. We
also regard these negotiations as very important. We’d like to help in
the near future to implement the results achieved at the talks.

[Correspondent] It is certainly incorrect to compare Azerbaijan with
the USA. Nonetheless, you are an official representative of an
administration whose actions all over the world are guided by the end
justifies the means principle. Our goal today is to restore
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, which is also supported by the
USA. If Azerbaijan starts going by the same principle as the USA, how
will Washington respond?

[Harnish] First, I don’t think that the USA pursues a policy based on
the end justifies the means principle. You will recall that all those
things which were not planned by America started after the terrorist
acts in New York. The threat came from outside. But similar events had
happened before. Over the past 10 years, unprovoked and causeless
attacks were committed on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and on
our ships in Yemen. We are sure that there’s an external threat to our
citizens.

Second, we’re concerned over the threat of proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. This issue stands high on the agenda of our foreign
policy. We’re trying to prevent the Pakistan-India conflict from
expanding. We’re concerned about Iran’s programmes to create weapons
of mass destruction.

Even those who call into question the means we use still admit that
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The US government is very much
worried about the real threat that weapons of mass destruction may
fall into the hands of terrorists. We want to prevent this threat
before it becomes a reality.

I have explained why, in the US administration’s opinion, a resumption
of hostilities is inadmissible. That is not all. It should not be
admitted also because an excellent alternative is available to settle
the conflict. The foreign ministers are good specialists and they are
holding very efficient peace talks.

Iran

[Correspondent] Iran has stepped up its regional policy of
late. Suffice it to note that Iranian President Khatami has been to
Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia during this year. The Karabakh conflict
was among the main issues discussed everywhere. Khatami officially
proposed Iran’s services as a mediator in the conflict settlement.
Does the USA admit, at least in theory, Iran’s mediation in settling
the Karabakh conflict?

[Harnish] It’s highly unlikely, at least because the international
community is concerned about Iran’s conduct on the international
scene, above all its projects to develop nuclear weapons. We hold
permanent consultation with the UN and the IAEA. Moreover, Iran has so
far ignored demands by the international community that it should
completely break off with international terrorist organizations of the
Hezbollah type. Finally, in other regions, for instance, the Middle
East, Iran has been trying to torpedo peace talks between Palestine
and Israel. However, political changes in Iran and a regime change in
that state remain an open question to us. We’d welcome this kind of
developments.

Let it be recalled that when Iran was hit by an earthquake, we tried
to establish contact with Tehran. Yet all our efforts have been to no
avail so far. Therefore, I don’t think Iran could be a good
intermediary between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

[Correspondent] Azerbaijan has been trying in vain for 10 years or so
to open a consulate in Tabriz. After Khatami’s visit, it transpired
the other day that two buildings have been selected for an Azerbaijani
consulate. Now Khatami has paid a visit to Armenia. Do you think that
Iran is thereby setting the stage to invigorate its policy in the
region, including the process of the Karabakh settlement? As you know,
part of Azerbaijan’s territory under Armenian occupation borders on
Iran. So the borders are currently under the control of Iran and
Armenia… [ellipsis as published]

[Harnish] Indeed, no-one but Iran and Armenia can know what exactly is
happening on the occupied territories. Until a peace accord has been
signed, we cannot know what’s been going on there for all these
years. Now there’s much speculation about Azerbaijan’s “pay” for
opening its consulate. I cannot know what the presidents of the two
states, Khatami and Ilham Aliyev, were speaking about face to
face. There’s a lot of speculation but I cannot say anything
particular to this effect.

[Correspondent] Speaking about the occupied territories, as far as we
understand, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the mediators interpret this term
differently. What do you mean by this term: the areas around Nagornyy
Karabakh or you also view Nagornyy Karabakh as part of the occupied
territories?

[Harnish] Karabakh appears to be the central subject of our talk
today. I would use the term being used by the international community:
Nagornyy Karabakh and the occupied territories, because the population
of the neighbouring areas was all or predominantly Azeri.

No need to change OSCE mandate for Karabakh

[Correspondent] You have said that representatives of the Azerbaijani
public demanded instant results from the co-chairmen. However, 10
years of patient waiting by Azerbaijan’s society can hardly fit in
with this definition. Still this is not the point. You argue that the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen cannot go beyond the limits of their
mandate. Well, if Azerbaijan returns this issue to the Security
Council and insists on adopting a resolution qualifying Armenia’s
actions as aggression and demanding that it should pull out of all the
Azerbaijani territories on an immediate, unconditional and above all
mandatory basis, will the USA support such a resolution at the
Security Council?

[Harnish] As far as I understand, you asked me if the USA will support
Azerbaijan’s motion that the Security Council introduce amendments to
the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group. I don’t know the answer to your
question. However, looking at this question in realistic terms, I
should say that the discussion of some resolutions by the Security
Council takes months or sometimes years on end. It depends of the
content of the resolution and plenty of other small nuances. I have
said more than once that the USA wants to assist in settling the
Karabakh conflict through peace talks. This desire didn’t arise from
nought: it is based on objective premises, on the results of meetings
between the two states’ presidents and foreign ministers.

I said before that the presidential elections in both states
practically froze the peace talks. Yet the past year saw dynamic
dialogue going on between the two sides to the conflict. Previously,
the sides had twice come near to the point of making a peace accord:
in Key West and just before the terrorist act in the Armenian
parliament. [Former Deputy Secretary of State] Strobe Talbot, whom you
all know very well, was in Yerevan at that time. In a word, we don’t
see why and for what we should be apologetic. We want a just and
lasting peace. Nor do we see any need for radical change in the OSCE
Minsk Group mandate. We believe that the current mandate of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairmen is good enough to go ahead to succeed in the
negotiations.

Elections, democracy and human rights

[Correspondent] We are not very interested in the forthcoming
municipal elections. They will hardly have any serious political
impact. The coming parliamentary elections are a different
matter. What do you think about the situation in which they will take
place?

[Harnish] We are ready to help Azerbaijan hold its forthcoming
parliamentary elections. We’re preparing a vast programme and we’re
ready to work with parties of various political orientation. Apart
from this, we’d like to see an expanding dialogue between the
authorities and society. Our efforts are starting now to reach their
culmination by the start of the electoral campaign.

We are paying special attention to efforts to ensure freedom of
speech. We’d like to see more of independent print and electronic
media, radio and television programmes and broadcasts. Unfortunately,
the existing television channels present the opinion of a very narrow
section of society. Now I cannot even say clearly whether a way out of
this situation is in establishing independent regional television
companies or in supporting the idea of forming public television. Yet
I can assure you that our partner organizations are working in this
area.

We used to hold training only with four leading parties. Now the list
is much longer. Some sceptics say that the USA wants an overthrow of
the current regime. Still our goal is different. We want an
environment in which various opinions could be voiced; we want a real
dialogue in society. We are carrying out these plans with the support
of our partners: the Republican Institute and the Institute for
National Democracy.

According to our observations, the typical voter has no interest in
political processes. We want to change this situation. Such apathy in
voters is good for no-one, neither the government, nor society or the
voters themselves.

In anticipation of municipal elections, meetings are being held in the
districts with representatives from the executive branch, political
parties and other non-governmental organizations. The latest meeting
took place in Zaqatala District [northern Azerbaijan]. I am sure that
the government supports our efforts to establish dialogue among
various strata of society.

Would it be bad to get such a dialogue going at a nationwide level? If
the president, the leaders of various parties and non-governmental
organizations could get together to discuss problems existing in the
country, it would be a great initiative. Speaking with journalists
after the latest act of pardoning, Aliyev used the word
“reconciliation”. One couldn’t say that the leaders of major political
parties took the statement negatively. It was rather the other way
round.

Opposition

[Correspondent] After the presidential elections in 2003, the
opposition-minded part of society and media traditionally supported by
the USA started blaming Washington for sacrificing democracy for the
sake of stability in Azerbaijan. In addition, we heard accusations
that some high-ranking representatives of the administration,
including Vice-President Dick Cheney and Deputy Secretary of State
Richard Armitage had personal interest in keeping the current ruling
elite in power… [ellipsis as published]

[Harnish] I think that the steps being taken by the US government need
no comment. I address all opposition leaders and generally the part of
society which argues that we should have done much more during the
elections. The USA and the UK are the rare states speaking out their
mind on matters of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. It’s not
accidental. Democracy is the central rather than a common element in
our foreign policy.

We openly state our position on matters of democracy and human rights
during our personal confidential talks. If such efforts fail to
produce the desired effect, we are as frank in speaking out to the
public as the case was when problems arose around freedom of religion
in Azerbaijan. We stick to this position despite the fact that it
deals a blow to our trade and economic interests.

As we talked with some of the critics you are speaking about, I asked
them what else the USA could have done during the presidential
elections in 2003. Their answers boil down to the following: You
didn’t choose me to be the Azerbaijani president. We are here not to
elect president. We are here to promote the establishment of a civil
society and development of democracy.

[Correspondent] Maybe not everything is normal in US foreign policy,
including with respect to post-Soviet states, once some people
seriously think that Washington can practically appoint president in
Azerbaijan? Similar sentiments could and can be seen in Armenia and
Georgia… [ellipsis as published]

[Harnish] The USA believes that voters can follow and correctly assess
political processes going on around them and influence the behaviour
of their leaders. Over the past 50 years, we’ve helped many states
move in this direction. Suffice it to recall Germany where Nazi and
neo-Nazi sentiments used to be very strong. In many other countries we
helped create conditions to hold democratic elections. This is our
long-term goal in Azerbaijan.

[Correspondent] Does the USA take into account Iran’s 30m-strong Azeri
population in planning its policy with respect to the Azerbaijani
Republic?

[Harnish] I don’t think that this factor has a serious impact on our
policy here because Azerbaijan is an independent state. We cooperate
with Azerbaijan in areas of mutual interest. I mentioned those areas
before.

[Correspondent] Does the US policy towards Iran itself take this
factor into account?

[Harnish] Earlier I mentioned factors hampering the development of
relations between Iran and the USA, such as the making of weapons of
mass destruction, support for international terrorism and its
nonconstructive stand on the issue of the Palestine-Israel conflict
settlement. The USA is not against dialogue with Iran. On the
contrary, as I said before, there was a time when we tried to
kick-start negotiations.

If we had normal relations with Iran, we’d urge Tehran to pursue a
policy ensuring equal rights for all ethnic minorities. You know
Iran’s problems in this area very well.

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
September 16, 2004, Thursday

UKRAINE, KAZAKHSTAN, AND BELARUS: PROSPECTS OF UNIFICATION WITH
RUSSIA

SOURCE: Gazeta, September 16, 2004, pp. 1-2

by Pavel Aptekar

Addressing a summit of the Eurasian Economic Community in Astana,
Kazakhstan three months ago, President Vladimir Putin said, “Wise
people of all countries, unite.”

“Chauvinism, nationalism, personal ambitions of political
decision-makers, and simple, primitive stupidity” interfere with
integration, Putin said. He avoided any sharp statements at the
United Economic Zone summit yesterday (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and
Kazakhstan) even though the signing of the necessary documents has
been postponed by at least a year. Putin merely reminded CIS leaders
that establishment of the united Economic Zone could bring living
standards in the involved countries up to the European level.
Observers have many more hopes for Putin’s meetings with presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the authorities of Georgia.

The political establishment of the CIS gathered in Astana yesterday.
National leaders joined prime ministers and foreign ministers. Only
Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan and President Vladimir Voronin of
Moldova were absent. Today’s agenda for the CIS summit has been
revised: given the latest events in Russia, the summit will be
centered around the problem of terrorism.

Predictably enough, Putin, Leonid Kuchma, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and
Alexander Lukashenko postponed the decision to establish of the
United Economic Zone until July 1, 2005.

All the same, summit participants are quite optimistic. Kuchma is
convinced that the future United Economic Zone should become a center
of attraction for neighboring countries. “We have everything we need
for it,” said president of Ukraine. “Political stability alone is
needed.”

“A common financial system will be installed and operational 10 to 12
years from now,” Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan promised.

President Lukashenko of Belarus hopes that the common financial
system will be working even earlier than that, “God (or Allah)
willing.”

Still, Putin painted a particularly rosy picture. “Surpassing the
level of the average citizen of Europe in the sufficiently
foreseeable future is quite within grasp,” Putin said.

The negotiating parties agreed on some new integration initiatives.
Putin, Kuchma, Nazarbayev, and Lukashenko intend to ease border
crossing procedures for citizens of the countries comprising the
United Economic Zone and instructed their governments to draft
appropriate documents. There is no saying at this point how the
future accord will concur with the recent decree of the president of
Russia on the war on terrorism. The decree demands tighter procedures
of border crossing for citizens of CIS countries.

Nazarbayev’s idea of a space corporation was approved in Astana.
Governments of the four countries comprising the United Economic Zone
have before December 15 to formulate their proposals. Construction of
the Clipper, a manned shuttle, is to become the ultimate objective of
the corporation. With a crew of six, the Clipper is expected to
replace the Soyuz rocket family. Its design by the Energy Corporation
will be Russia’s contribution. Kuchma says that the Design Bureau
Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash factory will probably represent Ukraine in the
future corporation. Kazakhstan will provide the Baikonur, and Belarus
its “unique capacities in the sphere of optics.”

“This is going to be the first project leading to new ones in the
sphere of high-tech industry,” Nazarbayev said. Kuchma was more to
the point. “What we need is unification of specific capacities” to
enable the United Economic Zone to compete with the West in the
high-tech sphere, he said. Lukashenko was worried by the problem of
commercial competition too. “There are very many states in the World
Trade Organization whose goods are better than our counterparts in
quality and price,” he announced.

Actually, some lingering discord among participants in the future
United Economic Zone was undeniable. With a glance in Kuchma’s
direction, Lukashenko mentioned “a lack of political will” and added,
“If some country, say, Ukraine or Russia, joined the World Trade
Organization before the rest do, we can forget about the United
Economic Zone.”

Later that evening, Putin met with presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharjan. Before that, Aliyev and
Kocharjan had a private conversation. Some experts tentatively assume
that the talks in Astana may provide a turning point in
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. A lot of hopes are also placed on
Putin’s talks with President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia.

Translated by A. Ignatkin

ABOUT CORROSIVE POWER OF MONEY AND SOCIETY BLIGHTED BY CORRUPTION

A1 Plus | 15:55:46 | 16-09-2004 | Social |

Armenian Center for National and International Studies held a
discussion Thursday over the results of Corruption in Armenia survey
conducted by the Center.{BR}

37% of 1956 respondents were offered bribe at the 2003 presidential
and parliamentary elections. 32,5% of them have taken it.

The survey shows corruption in Armenia is considered as political
phenomenon. 42,8% think current authorities formed thank to bribe
and fraud has to protect those who helped them to come to power and
retain it.

19,4% find corruption the most effective way for accumulation of
wealth.

Head of Economic Researches Center Ashot Tavadyan doesn’t share
opinion that Armenian people tolerate bribery and have come to terms
with that phenomenon.

He says this idea is imposed by the authorities and added that
people become indifferent when see their complaints remain fallen
into neglect.

In Tavadyan’s opinion, broadly-worded state program against corruption
provides no clear idea about the steps to be taken.

He says there are many absurd provisions in the program such as a
statement that Customs Services not National Assembly are in charge
of legislative changes in custom area.

Tavadyan said the government program had been taken sceptically by
25,3% of respondents, 69,3% found it hard to answer the question and
only 4,9% were optimistic about the program.

“Corrupted authorities can’t struggle against themselves”, said the
majority of the survey respondents.

Putin arrives for CIS summit in Kazakh capital

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
15 Sep 04

Astana, 15 September: Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived
in the Kazakh capital of Astana, where he will take part in two
international summits. Today there will be a summit of the heads
of state of the Single Economic Space [SEC] member states (Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan), and tomorrow there will be a forum
of CIS leaders.

Besides, this evening Putin will have a tripartite meeting with
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev. The Kremlin assumes that the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan “must find an agreement between themselves”, but that Russia
“can make its own contribution to the development and strengthening
of dialogue” between Yerevan and Baku.

Putin’s working day in Astana will start with a private meeting with
his SEC counterparts. The presidents will then be joined by other
members of the delegations. After the talks, 29 joint documents will
be signed and a news conference will be held.

The president’s aide, Sergey Prikhodko, told ITAR-TASS that the
agreements which have been prepared for signing “are designed to
create the necessary conditions for deeper economic integration and
a step-by-step advance towards the free movement of goods, services,
capital and workforce within the four countries”. Prikhodko said that
these documents would allow “not only the consdierable liberalization
of reciprocal trade but also creation of the prerequisites for a
future transition to a customs union”.

Speaker says refusal to allow Armenian servicemen entry to Baku “unacceptable”

Mediamax news agency
13 Sep 04

Yerevan, 13 September: The speaker of the Armenian parliament, Artur
Bagdasaryan, today described Azerbaijan’s policy of avoiding any
contacts with the Armenian side both on the bilateral and regional
levels as “unacceptable”.

The head of the Armenian parliament said this in Yerevan today,
commenting on the Azerbaijani authorities’ refusal to grant entry
visas to five Armenian officers to attend the Cooperative Best Effort
– 2004 exercises within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace
programme that were to start in Baku today.

“Nevertheless, Armenia will continue active and constructive regional
cooperation within the framework of NATO and other international
organizations,” Artur Bagdasaryan said.