Author: Vasilian Manouk

ANSA Notiziario Generale in Italiano
June 24, 2004

URUGUAY: DONNA SI SUICIDA CON BARBITURICI E COLTELLATE

(ANSA-AFP) – MONTEVIDEO, 24 GIU – Una donna di 48 anni malata
di depressione, in cura da tempo presso psichiatri, si e
suicidata nella sua abitazione di Montevideo ingerendo
barbiturici e conficcandosi in corpo cinque coltelli. Lo ha
annunciato la polizia uruguaiana.

La donna, di nazionalita’ armena e di cui sono state fornite
solo le iniziali – A.H.K. – aveva mandato la sua collaboratrice
familiare a fare la spesa per restare sola in casa.

All’arrivo dei soccorritori, la donna era ancora viva, ma
presentava “ferite multiple d’arma bianca al collo e all’
addome”, che ne hanno poi causato la morte.

La suicida ha lasciato scritto di aver ingerito una notevole
quantita’ di barbiturici. “Pensiero, parola, azione (…)
perdonatemi tutti ma non ce la faccio piu’ (…) non voglio piu
vivere. Mio figlio e la mia famiglia non c’entrano. Non voglio
che nessuno soffra”, afferma il suo ultimo messaggio. (ANSA-
AFP).

RIA Novosti, Russia
June 24 2004

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S SPEECH IN STRASBOURG POSITIVE

YEREVAN, June 24, 2004 (RIA Novosti) – Armenian President Robert
Kocharian believes regional cooperation in the South Caucasus is a
good start for settlement of ongoing conflicts. He voiced his
viewpoint on a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe in Strasbourg.

The presidential press service said Robert Kocharian had spoken for
development of regional cooperation in the South Caucasus aimed at
“both harmonization of legislations and restoration of the
transportation network and implementation of joint energy projects.”

According to Mr. Kocharian, “the South Cucasus as a single economic
space is more valuable than each South Caucasian state may dream of
alone.”

The South Caucasus has always been sesnsible to external impact. The
South Caucasus is the place where civilizations meet, with due
account of its energy and transportation potential it has always lain
in the interests of third countries. It is the very thing that made
us follow comprehensive foreign policy,” Mr. Kocharian stressed.

“We are responsible for stability in the region and we must take
actions to smooth over the problems, not to escalate them. Due to
such an approach we now have confidential relations with the USA, the
European Union and Iran; we have traditional close relations with
Russia as well,” – he added.

Azeri officer killed by Armenian sniper – agency

Turan news agency
23 Jun 04

BAKU

Lt Teymur Panahov of the Azerbaijani army was killed by an Armenian
sniper in the village of Dassalahli in Qazax District on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani front at 0730 [0230 gmt] yesterday.

The press service of the Defence Ministry has confirmed the killing of
the officer. According to the same source, the lieutenant received
lethal wound in his head. In turn, the next of kin of the officer said
that he had been shot when protecting his soldiers.

[Passage omitted: Teymur’s biography]

According to unofficial reports, intensive firefights with intervals
have been going on in Dassalahli for two weeks. Several troops were
shot dead in Qazax District recently.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Summerfest kicks up its cool quotient with younger lineup

By GEMMA TARLACH

Journal Sentinel pop music critic
Posted: June 19, 2004

Prince likes us

Babisch, who books all the Marcus Amphitheater acts for Summerfest,
labors each year to keep ticket prices affordable. In 2003, for
example, bargaining with Fleetwood Mac’s management led to Summerfest
having the lowest ticket prices of the band’s tour. Keeping cost in
check is increasingly difficult, however, as the industrywide average
continues to rise, particularly for older performers.

“The older, more seasoned acts like Madonna are generating the
highest grosses, but that goes in line with them having the higher
ticket prices,” said Ray Waddell, who covers the touring industry as
a senior writer for Billboard.

MTV’s Armenia wasn’t surprised to hear Madonna, Van Halen and most
other older-skewing acts were skipping Summerfest, with the exception
of Crosby, Stills & Nash, who will headline the amphitheater July 3.

More established acts also tend to have more elaborate production
requirements for their performances and might not be able to set up
in an amphitheater setting.

Prince, who kicks off Summerfest on Thursday, is an exception to the
demanding, high-priced veterans hitting the road this season.

“Prince reworked his entire schedule to play here because he likes
playing here. We’re his only outdoor date,” said Babisch, adding that
the funk-rock icon also was willing to change his stage configuration
to fit into the amphitheater.

-mail Gemma Tarlach at [email protected].

Parents told no new Melkonian class this year
By Jean Christou

Cyprus Mail
June 18 2004

PARENTS who believed they had registered their children for the
first year at the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI) were shocked
yesterday when they were told no such class would be operated from
September this year.

Troupia Samonian told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that she had enrolled
her primary school-age daughter for the first year of secondary school
at the Armenian school weeks ago but when she went yesterday with
another parent, they were told that no children were being registered
for the new school year.

Parents were also told that entrance exam dates for graduates from
the Armenian Elementary Nareg in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, scheduled
for yesterday and today had been cancelled.

The New York-based Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), which
plans to close the 78-year old school in June 2005, despite fierce
opposition, had invited parents to enroll their children for day school
in September. The advertisement in early May said registration would
take place from May 19. Those who recently contacted the school were
told their children could not be registered because they had missed
the deadline. However, no deadline was specified in the advertisement.

Samonian was one of the parents who registered early, but she said
when she went to MEI yesterday she was told there would be no class
for her daughter to attend.

“I registered three weeks ago and I sat back thinking my daughter
would be attending school in September,’ she told the Mail yesterday.
“I was totally surprised that they had changed their minds again.”
She said that she was not even informed of the situation until she
visited the school yesterday.

Samonian said that when she asked to see the principal, she was
instead directed to Gordon Anderson, the representative of the AGBU
in Cyprus. He told her there would be no registrations for the school
year but recalled that there had been an advertisement telling parents
they could enroll their children for the new school year.

“He remembered but it was all changed,” she said. “I asked why
parents were not informed and why no one had bothered to call about
the changed decision. This concerns our children`s futures and we
didn’t know about it.”

Samonian said all she managed to get out of them was a lot of “blah
blah blah”. ‘The only conclusion we can draw is that they plan to
close down the school at all costs,” she said.

Anderson told the Cyprus Mail that they had decided not to run the
first-year class from September because so few parents had applied
to register their children. Asked why parents had not been informed
that the class would not be run, he said: “It’s not my responsibility.”

However sources told the Mail that the teachers were also in the dark
about what was going on so they could not have informed the parents
there would be no class.

“They have backtracked and now are not accepting anyone,” said a
member of the school’s alumni, who are trying to fight the closure
decision. The alumni believe the AGBU wants to get its hands on the
property, worth £40 million and sell it to developers.

“It was a nice little trick,” said the alumni member. “They are also
in the process of shutting down the school’s website and plan to fire
the local board over the summer. Verbally they are saying one thing
but they are doing another.”

Yesterday, seven parents from the Armenian primary school in Larnaca
wrote to the Education Minister asking for his intervention and
enclosing a letter to the AGBU asking why their children were being
denied an Armenian education.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Ottawa June 16, 2004
Office of Sarkis Assadourian M.P.
120 Confederation
House of Commons, Ottawa, Canada
Contact: Daniel Kennedy
Tel: 613 995 4843

M.P. Sarkis Assadourian To Attend
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Will Also Travel to California

Mr. Sarkis Assadourian (Brampton Centre, Lib.): is scheduled to attend
the Meeting of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development
of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe at the OECD,
Strasbourg June 21-25, 2004.

The Parliamentarians will meet to discuss a vast array of diverse
issues including human rights, electronic media and trans-boundary
water basins. A special highlight for Armenians will be the address
by Mr. Robert Kocharyan, President of Armenia.

-0-

Mr. Sarkis Assadourian (Brampton Centre, Lib.): and his wife Zaza
will travel to California from July 7-14 to visit with their many
friends in the area. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the
Armenian Apostolic Church in California will be hosting a reception
to welcome the first Canadian Parliamentarian of Armenian origin and
his wife to Los Angeles on Monday July 12, 2004.

-30-
For further information contact: Daniel Kennedy 613-995-4843

Moscow Times
June 16 2004

Gazprom Getting Tough With Ex-Soviet Republics

Combined Reports

Dmitry Beliakov / bloomberg

Ryazanov said Gazprom will gradually raise gas prices for all three
Baltic states.

Gazprom, the world’s largest natural gas producer, said Tuesday it
plans to cut deliveries of the fuel to former Soviet republics by
almost 5 percent this year and gradually raise prices for new
European Union members Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

“We shall start pushing prices up for [the Baltic states] to the
level close to the European Union,” Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander
Ryazanov told a news conference.

He said that Gazprom, which rarely discloses export prices, supplies
the Baltic states at $84 per 1,000 cubic meters. Neighboring Poland
gets gas at about $120 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Gazprom will deliver 49.9 billion cubic meters of gas to the CIS,
Georgia and the Baltics, down from 52.3 bcm last year, he said.
Deliveries to Belarus will rise by 2 percent to 18.5 bcm, and to
Lithuania by 4 percent, to 3.07 bcm.

“There are serious problems in developing cooperation between Gazprom
and the CIS countries because of debts they owe for gas,” Ryazanov
said.

Gazprom says Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova owe $3.25 billion. At the
start of June, the company stopped deliveries to Poland and Germany
through Belarus after a price dispute.

Ryazanov warned that Gazprom might limit deliveries to Georgia, which
has accumulated a $50 million to $60 million debt.

“Georgia is our main headache,” he said.

Production will rise 3.3 percent to 542 bcm, with 291 bcm going to
Russia, he said. It expects to break even on domestic sales and earn
as much as $400 million from them in 2005.

“This is a transitional period, and we’ll look at prices when we get
over this period,” Ryazanov said.

Gazprom will increase transit shipments of gas from Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Georgia and Moldova as much as sixfold to 9.35 bcm this
year, he said. A total of 44.1 bcm from Central Asia will cross
Russian territory, along with 119.2 bcm from Ukraine, 33.1 bcm from
Belarus and 22.1 bcm from Moldova.

“The main problem in delivering Central Asian gas is the lack of a
decent transport infrastructure,” Ryazanov said.

He said Moldova owes Gazprom $1.26 billion, and the company is in
talks with the government on restructuring the debt, including
schemes under which Gazprom will get shares in Moldovan firms.

(Bloomberg, Reuters)

Return of occupied Azeri districts dangerous for Armenia – paper    

Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
12 Jun 04

The return of Azerbaijan’s seven occupied districts poses a
threat to Armenia’s security, the Armenian newspaper Aykakan
Zhamanak has said. This will allow Azerbaijan to control the whole
Armenian-controlled sector of the Azerbaijani-Iranian border and
worsen the position of the Armenian troops along the front line,
the newspaper said. According to Aykakan Zhamanak, these steps can
seriously threaten the security of Karabakh and Armenia’s southern
regions. If this information is true, it will confirm the failure of
President Robert Kocharyan’s Karabakh policy and testify that he is
using this to extend his power, the newspaper said. The following
is the text of Erdzanik Abgaryan’s report by Armenian newspaper
Aykakan Zhamanak on 12 June headlined “Conflict in the business
sphere?”. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The warning issued by the first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, that
in the Karabakh conflict our real enemy is not Azerbaijan, but the
world community has become evident. And even the political forces in
power who are suffering from night blindness and corrupt intellectuals
who are eating their leftovers can notice this if they want.

Helpless Kocharyan

The Council of Europe, the OSCE, the European Union and NATO have
attacked [Armenian President Robert] Kocharyan. Kocharyan is helpless
because even his “partner” Putin cannot help him. He was warned six or
seven months ago that during the NATO summit in Istanbul progress will
be made in the Karabakh problem and Armenian-Turkish relations. If you
remember, some time after that, the Dashnaks [Armenian Revolutionary
Federation – Dashnaktsutyun] started speaking even about holding a
referendum on the Karabakh issue. If their Karabakh policy fails,
[Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan] Oskanyan threatens to resign, etc.
But as is seen, Kocharyan understood the seriousness of the problem
later and turned off the wrong path, deciding not to go to Istanbul.

But this step did not help him either. Oskanyan has been summoned
to Washington, and on 15 June, he should be there with Kocharyan’s
reply to a letter from the American co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Steven Mann, who suddenly turned up in Yerevan about 10
days ago. According to our information, during a recent meeting
between the coalition parties, Yerkrapa [Union of Volunteers] and
representatives of the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [NKR], Kocharyan
put to a vote the issue of returning Fuzuli, Cabrayil and Zangilan
Districts to Azerbaijan.

The highest price

In fact, Kocharyan suggested discussing the issue of surrendering
the regions of the most strategic importance to Azerbaijan, through
which the Baku-Naxcivan railway passes, which will allow Azerbaijan to
control the whole Armenian-controlled sector of the Azerbaijani-Iranian
border. It is obvious that the territory of those regions should
have the highest price in the settlement of the Karabakh issue. The
positions of our troops that are in this sector of the front will
worsen: the current 20km front line will be extended by 10 times and
will become 200km long. These steps, which are beyond the logic of any
option for the conflict settlement, can seriously threaten Karabakh
and the security of Armenia’s Megri region.

New events, in particular the surrender of [Azerbaijan’s] Zangilan
District, which will lead to the establishment of contact between
Armenia and Azerbaijan on the southern border, raise the issue of
Kapan’s protection. This problem is directly related to the security
of Kapan. It is inadmissible for Kapan to be on the state border
again. Incidentally, we still do not know how Kocharyan is going
to settle such problems which are great in number in the Karabakh
issue. We do not know either which problems connected with the
interests of Armenia and Karabakh Kocharyan will settle if these
regions are surrendered to Azerbaijan. According to some information,
in that case, the USA is ready to give 150m dollars to Armenia within
the framework of “Millennium Challenges” programme and force Azerbaijan
to give up its efforts to include the Karabakh conflict in the sphere
of the anti-terrorist fight.

Kocharyan’s failure

It is difficult to say how correct this information is, but if it
is really so, then it is threatening: if Armenia does not agree,
it will be sidelined from the “Millennium Challenges” programme
and the Karabakh conflict may be included in the anti-terrorist
sphere. Moreover, it is not clear how Kocharyan sees this problem,
which is separate from the Karabakh issue, in the general difficult
context of Armenian-Azerbaijani disagreements. This does not meet the
logic of the stage-by-stage or package settlement options. According
to our information, during the above meeting, everybody listened to
Kocharyan in silence.

The only person who supported this suggestion was Artur Bagdasaryan
[chairman of the National Assembly] who has a dim understanding of
the problems of Karabakh policy and who has announced that his party
[Law-Governed Country Party] is ready to support Kocharyan openly
in the issue of surrendering those regions. The only person who was
against it was the NKR defence minister, Seyran Oganyan, who expresses
the viewpoint of the Karabakh leadership. Finally, it will be clear
soon what Oskanyan will take to Washington with him. If these rumours
are true, it turns out that by turning the most important sector of
the occupied territories into something that can be bought and sold,
Kocharyan in fact confirmed the failure of his Karabakh policy. That’s
to say, like in 1998, he failed the Karabakh issue for the sake of
seizing power. Exactly in the same way, he can make this problem
serve his personal purpose – to extend his power.

Turkish foreign minister addresses OIC meeting on international issues

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
14 Jun 04

Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has
said in the opening of the OIC summit in Istanbul that the world is
“at a very crucial time” and has mentioned Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq,
terrorism, Africa and economic deprivation as the main problems needed
to be sorted out. Pointing out that all Islamic countries are directly
affected by these issues, Gul said that it is the OIC mission “dictated
by common heritage and deep sense of history” to rise to the present
challenges. He asked the OIC to develop and increase institutional
relations with other regional organizations in order to “strengthen
global harmony and the settlement of regional disputes. On Cyprus,
Gul also asked the OIC member states to support the Turkish Cypriots
“materially and politically”. The following is the text of report in
English by Turkish news agency Anatolia

Istanbul, 14 June: Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul said on Monday [14 June]: “As the Islamic countries, we
must take strength from our common heritage which offers a rational
and humanistic understanding of the world.”

Speaking at the 31st session of Islamic Conference of Foreign
Ministers in Istanbul, Gul said: “We meet again at a very crucial
time. The Arab-Israeli conflict with the question of Palestine at
its core is bleeding hopes away. Iraq has yet to show a genuine sign
towards stability. Africa’s problems remain to be solved. Terrorism is
expanding its scope and intensifying in ferocity. Sense of security
is fast diminishing. The continuing political, social and economic
deprivation is bringing greater instability. Those preaching clash of
civilizations are winning more attentive ears. Prejudices, fanaticism
and discrimination are everywhere. And, insecurity is now threatening
a global economic downturn.”

“We, as the Islamic countries, are affected by all these issues
directly. Therefore, we need to rise to the challenge. This is not
a matter of choice; it is a mission dictated by our common heritage
and our deep sense of history. Our task may be difficult. However,
we must not fall to desperation. We must take strength from our common
heritage which offers a rational and humanistic understanding of the
world. This quality of Islamic culture and tradition has produced
remarkable achievements in the past. But it is not enough to content
ourselves with the old times. Our present challenge is to work for
similar achievements today and in the future,” he said.

Gul noted: “It is gratifying to see that many fellow OIC members feel
the need for improved quality of political and social standards. Even
within the past one year, we have witnessed individual and collective
efforts towards this end.”

“There has been an increasing interest both in the West and the
East in Turkey’s experience in harmonizing contemporary values with
the traditional identity. Indeed, human rights, gender equality and
realization of universal standards including the European political
criteria by a Muslim society has been welcomed by all,” he stressed.

Gul listed common values as, “the sovereign nations that make up
the OIC are determined to further the political, economic, social
and cultural progress of their societies; equality and freedom
of their citizens is their cherished principle; transparency and
accountability are guiding principles of good governance; broadening
the representative nature and democratic practices of government is
a constant objective; providing contemporary education to all its
citizens is an essential function of the government; and sustainable
economic and social development should be pursued vigorously and
efforts should be deployed in reducing poverty.”

He enumerated collective efforts as “the OIC members should assist
each other in their efforts for progress and reform; the OIC,
as an institution, should devise ways and means for supporting the
reforms in a collective framework; also for the purpose of shouldering
these tasks, the OIC needs to make a determined effort to adapt its
secretariat to the growing demands of today”.

“The OIC should develop and increase institutional relations with
other regional organizations such as the Arab League, the Economic
Cooperation Organization, the D-8, the Gulf Cooperation Council,
the African Union, the ASEAN, the European Union (EU), the Council
of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, for the purpose
of fostering intra and inter-regional cooperation and for drawing
expertise and resources for the OIC members’ national projects. These
institutional relations should also help strengthen global harmony
and attract meaningful interest in the settlement of the regional
disputes,” he said. Gul added: “I also look forward to the convening of
the second OIC-EU joint forum in Istanbul next October. This meeting
will take place at a time when the need for cooperation and mutual
understanding becomes more important than ever.”

Gul continued: “Now it is high time for the international community
to give full backing to the Turkish Cypriots by engaging in direct
economic, commercial, social and cultural contacts with them.” Gul
said: “the United Nations Settlement Plan was overwhelmingly rejected
by the Greek Cypriot side on 24 April 2004, while the Turkish Cypriots
approved it with a clear majority. This vote has fundamentally changed
the circumstances in Cyprus. The international organizations and many
countries expressed regret over the Greek Cypriot attitude. They all
welcomed the Turkish Cypriots’ determination for the settlement.”

“OIC Secretary-General Dr Belkeziz reported that the international
community, and the Muslim countries in particular, should work together
to address the plight of the Turkish Cypriots by supporting them
materially and politically. Also, the first ever official visit of the
OIC secretary-general on 28 May 2004 to the [self-proclaimed] Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus was most timely and meaningful. I commend
this action of solidarity with the Turkish Cypriots,” he stressed.

Gul noted: “The United Nations secretary-general, in his recent report,
calls on all states to cooperate both bilaterally and in international
bodies to eliminate restrictions and barriers that have the effect
of isolating the Turkish Cypriots and impeding their development.”

“Now it is high time for the international community to give full
backing to the Turkish Cypriots by engaging in direct economic,
commercial, social and cultural contacts with them. The EU and the
United States have already taken some steps with a view to putting
an end to the isolation of Turkish Cypriots,” he emphasized.

Gul added: “Our current meeting is an opportunity for this organization
and the Islamic World to extend full support to Turkish Cypriot Muslim
brothers, so as to put an end to their isolation.”

Gul continued: “Iraq remains insecure and volatile. Violence and
terror in Iraq need to be dealt with. This is essential for the
transformation and the rebuilding of the country.”

Gul said: “Iraq now has an interim government that will assume
sovereignty by the end of this month. We wish this government to be
successful. We wish they prove to serve the collective interests of
the Iraqi people in their entirety. We wish they remain conscious
that the source of legitimacy of this interim government ultimately
lies with the people.”

“I commend Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Adviser of the United
Nations secretary-general, is helping move forward the transition in
Iraq. I hope the United Nations will be able to play its independent
and effective role in assisting the Iraqis in institution-building
and election preparation in the months ahead,” he said.

Gul stressed: “Iraq meanwhile remains insecure and volatile. Violence
and terror in Iraq need to be dealt with. This is essential for the
transformation and the rebuilding of the country. The international
community should support the Iraqi people in this process. It is a
moral obligation for us. It is also an investment for regional peace
and stability. In this respect, we welcome the unanimously adopted
UN Security Council Resolution No 1546.”

“The neighbouring countries of Iraq have supported this country’s
free and peaceful future since the onset of the Iraqi crisis. This
continuing joint initiative is a great asset for the integrity and
the stability of Iraq,” he said.

Gul added: “The OIC has a meaningful role to play in Iraq. Furthermore,
UN Security Council Resolution No 1546 calls upon international and
regional organizations to contribute to Iraq’s stability. Therefore,
we should elaborate on ways on how to assist the political process as
well as the humanitarian needs in Iraq. Turkey, during its Chairmanship
of the ICFM, will pay particular attention to this point.”

Gul said that he believed that full support would be given to Prof
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for office of OIC secretariat-general. Gul
continued: “Ihsanoglu has long been a household name for our
organization as the successful director general of IRCICA. I do not
need to repeat here what we all already know about this professional,
academic and administrative credentials. I am confident that the will
have more to offer as the secretary-general of the organization.”

“My government has an increasing interest in revitalizing the OIC
and its Secretariat. The OIC needs to continue to move forward as an
institution. We want to contribute to this in every possible way we
can. It is in this spirit that my government has decided to nominate
a candidate for the post of secretary-general of the OIC,” he noted.

Gul said: “Turkey will do its utmost over the next year as the chairman
of the ICFM to rise up to the challenges facing the organization. We
are confident that we can count on your full support.”

“The question of Palestine has become even more acute over
the past year. Violence claimed many more innocent lives. The
destruction brought by the policies of Israel deprived thousands
of more Palestinians of even minimum requirements for living. The
Palestinian [National] Authority remains mainly incapacitated. Turkey
has all along stated that the employment of terror, suicide missions,
targeted assassinations and deliberate destruction can bring no good
to any party either now or in the longer run. I would like to draw
the attention of the international community once more to the urgency
of the solution of this problem which, coupled with the situation in
Iraq, continues to undermine global peace and harmony,” Gul noted.

Abdullah Gul stressed: “In this regard, I commend the initiative taken
by Malaysia, the OIC summit chairman. The special ministerial meeting
held last April has led to a well-organized diplomatic activity. The
OIC ministerial delegation, including Turkey, has thus far met three
of the four Quartet partners. Our message to the sponsors of the
road-map has been clear. The OIC will actively stand behind genuine
movement towards settlement, and the OIC will be watchful of all
concerned parties.”

He said: “Inspired also by the Arab Peace Initiative, based on the
wise ideas of Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the OIC can
oversee the process to achieve the two-state solution between Israel
and Palestine. We can do the same for Israel’s peace with Syria and
Lebanon, based on Security Council Resolutions Nos 242 and 338. This
can be achieved through the OIC mechanisms already available. Thus,
the OIC, from its political and moral high ground, can offer full
normalization and cooperation in the region.”

Gul said: “Africa needs our particular attention. The long-standing
problems of economic development, health and famine continue to
undermine the nations of this continent. Regional conflicts make their
challenges even more difficult. The need to support sustainable
development and social progress in Africa is an international
responsibility of which we need to take our share.”

“Concerning Afghanistan, we are pleased that the Bonn process is
being implemented successfully despite difficulties. Adoption of the
new constitution is an important step towards the establishment of a
new political structure in Afghanistan. With the upcoming elections
in September, a new chapter will be opened. To maintain the pace
of this progress, Afghanistan needs the continued commitment of
the international community. Turkey will continue its support to
Afghanistan,” Gul noted.

Foreign Minister Gul said: “We remained concerned by the ongoing
situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Its people have already suffered
greatly. This question undermines the stability of the whole
region. We look forward to a peaceful solution to this question
through dialogue, on the basis of international legitimacy. The human
rights of the Kahsmiri people should be fully respected and their will
honoured as mandated by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The recent moves made by both Pakistan and India and the process of
“composite dialogue” have increased our hopes. We commend Pakistan
for its continued efforts to sustain this dialogue. We wish to see
these efforts will be crowned with success this time.”

Gul stressed that the Azeri-Armenian conflict still stands as
one of the principle obstacles to regional stability, prosperity
and cooperation in Southern Caucasia. The time has come to find a
peaceful solution to this conflict within the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan. The Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories
has to be brought to an end. This is in the interest of the regional
countries as well as the international community. Turkey is ready to
play its role in settling this issue.

“International terrorism is widening its reach and increasing
in ferocity. It continues to claim lives and hopes around the
world. Terrorism has not religion, ethnicity or culture. It is an
affront to the humanity. Therefore, it must be fought back resolutely,”
he pointed out.

“For many years, the OIC has been monitoring the conditions of
the Turkish Muslim minority in Western Thrace. This minority has
vested rights based on bilateral agreements and international
instruments. However, they are not yet able to enjoy these basic
minority rights to the full extend. The OIC therefore needs to
continue to follow the Turkish Muslim minority’s plight closely. I
hope my government’s improving relations and dialogue with Greece
will also contribute to the betterment of this minority’s conditions,”
Gul stated.

“The economic and commercial activities of the OIC constitute one
of the main pillars of our cooperation. The Standing Committee for
Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC), chaired by the president
of Turkey, has been a highly effective instrument in this respect. And
this year marks the 20th anniversary of its inception. A special
meeting of Ministers of Economy and Trade will be organized to mark
this and to evaluate the perspectives of further economic-commercial
cooperation among us,” Gul said.

Gul emphasized: “This year, we are also pleased to see the Framework
Agreement for the Trade Preferential System among the Member Countries
of the OIC coming into force. This is indeed a landmark. The Trade
Negotiating Committee formed under this agreement has also held its
first meeting recently in Turkey.”

” In this respect, I would also like to express my government’s
continued support for the activities of the two successful subsidiary
organs of the OIC hosted by Turkey, namely IRCICA and SESRTCIC,”
he noted.

Gul said, “I tried to address a number of major issues for our
organization. Many more vital matters constitute part of our agenda.

Dealing with these requires year-round dedication and hard work. That
is where the role of the Secretariat becomes crucial.

POLITICAL PRISONER VAGHARSHAK HARUTYUNYAN’S PRETRIAL DETENTION EXTENDED
FOR TWO MONTHS

A1 Plus | 14:06:25 | 07-06-2004 | Politics |

On Monday, at its closed-door session, Center Nork-Marash
first instance court satisfied the prosecution plea to extend
General-Lieutenant Vagharshak Harutyunyan’s pretrial detention for
two months.

Vagharshak Harutyunyan is charged with attempting a coup, making
seditious calls and insulting the authorities and can face up to 19
years in jail if convicted.

The protest of Harutyunyan’s attorney Robert Grigoryan hasn’t been
heard in a clear breach of the law. The court made its Monday’s
decision without considering the protest, because the accused “can
be dangerous if released.”

No exact wrongdoing is pointed out by the prosecution side so far. Only
the counts that Harutyunyan is charged with are indicated.