Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

ARMENIAN PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE UNDERSCORES ADOPTION OF ANTI-SMOKING LAW

ArmenPress
Sept 7 2004

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS: Reporters of several Armenian
newspapers and one TV station, namely- Respublika Armenia, Aravot,
Golos Armenii, The New Yerevan Times and H2 TV station were named as
winners of a competition for a wide coverage of anti-smoking campaign,
announced by the Armenian Public Health Alliance. Prizes were handed
over to the winners today.

the Armenian Public Health Alliance has been a functioning organization
for the second year now and has been implementing anti-smoking campaign
for the last 9 months aiming to raise public awareness about the
dangers of smoking.

The group also fought for Armenia’s signing of the Anti-Smoking
Frame Convention which was open for it by June 29. The alliance
members voiced their disappointment that Armenia did not join
the convention. The alliance has sent the Convention to Armenian
Constitutional Court which ruled that it does not run counter to the
Armenian Constitution and may be therefore signed.

Currently, an anti-smoking legislative package is under circulation
which will be presented to the discussions of the National Assembly
commissions on September 10. The alliance thinks that this law also
will be a step forward in fighting against smoking.

Polish minister says Iraqi authorities want number of Polish troops maintained

Trybuna, Warsaw
3 Sep 04

Excerpt from an interview with Polish Defence Minister Jerzy
Szmajdzinski by Andrzej Rudnicki, entitled “Fitful sleep” published
by Polish newspaper Trybuna on 3 September

Rudnicki Do thoughts of Iraq cause you to lose any sleep?

Szmajdzinski Yes, all too often. I do not think that is a good sign.

Rudnicki One year has passed since the multinational division under
the Polish command took over the south-central sector of Iraq. Was
it worth going in there?

Szmajdzinski If we look at it in the broader perspective, I think
it was. The very difficult and risky decisions we made, counter to
what the general public said, only go to show that Poland sees its
security to be indivisible. Our involvement in missions of this sort
stems from the need to ensure international security. This stood true
50 years ago, and it stood true one year ago. Iraq is a safer place
without Saddam, but that does not mean the process that is currently
under way in that country is secure.

Rudnicki Still, the reasons for attacking Iraq have proved to be
very dubious.

Szmajdzinski The US and UK intelligence services made their
miscalculations. Saddam refused to implement more than a dozen UN
Security Council resolutions. Iraq refused to observe the principles
that we had all embraced within the UN charter. The Saddam regime
threatened the Iraqi people and the entire population of the Middle
East. On the whole, our arguments seem to stand strong.

Passage omitted .

Rudnicki You had no doubt that Polish troops were sacrificing their
lives for a just cause?

Szmajdzinski Our activity in Iraq was received with support and
gratitude. Throughout one year we implemented projects developing
the Iraqi infrastructure, health care system, and education worth a
total of 50m zlotys approx. 13.6m dollars . The international community
was split when the operation began. Today, however, it has no doubt
that the situation in Iraq must be stabilized. The process is under
way: there is a provisional Iraqi government in place and Iraq has
a president.

Prime Minister Marek Belka received a letter from his Iraqi counterpart
Iyad Allawi on Thursday 2 September . He has heard that we are
planning to reduce the number of our troops in his country. He is
asking us not to do it and prevent destabilization. President Ghazi
Mish’al Ajil al-Yawar is to visit Poland in the next few days. A
delegation of the Iraqi Defence Ministry has visited us recently,
declaring that the Iraqi authorities expect us to keep our troops
in their country and help them develop and equip their army. Despite
the risks we have taken and the lives we have lost, we are carrying
out our mission of returning Iraq back to the Iraqi people.

Rudnicki What has Poland gained after one year of involvement in
the operation?

Szmajdzinski I find it difficult to talk about this. The Polish
government did not set any conditions when it made its decision. We
are carrying out this mission to ensure security in that part of the
world in the belief that it contributes to Polish and international
security. People abroad are speaking about Poland more kindly and
warmly today, they speak of our involvement and credibility. At
least this is what I see in my international contacts. In my view,
this translates into a warmer climate surrounding Poland as a serious
participant in these events.

Rudnicki Talks on the fourth shift of the Polish contingent in Iraq
have begun at the Warsaw Citadel. Will our troops be reduced in line
with earlier announcements, or will the Polish authorities heed the
Iraqi pleas and change their stance?

Szmajdzinski Taking part in the conference are representatives of
states involved in our division and Armenia, a new partner that is to
send 50 servicemen to Iraq. No one, Poland included, will reduce their
contingents before the Iraqi elections scheduled for January. We have
also decided to hand over Babylon back to the Iraqis. The command of
the division will probably relocate to al-Kadisiyah Province. We will
pull out of Karbala. The division will be relocated to the Babil,
Wasit and al-Kadisiyah provinces.

Rudnicki Will there be fewer troops?

Szmajdzinski Maybe. We are not discussing the size of the new
contingent at this point. This depends on how the situation in Iraq
develops, how the political process proceeds, and how soon an Iraqi
army that can replace us is formed. I am a moderate optimist as far as
the next few months are concerned. Our UN mandate expires at the turn
of 2005 and 2006. This means our military mission will come to an end
then. Unless the Iraqi government wants us to leave earlier, that is.

Rudnicki Thank you for the interview.

THE MESSAGE OF NKR PRESIDENT GHUKASSIAN

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
4 Sept 04

on September 2 we celebrate the birthday of the Republic of Nagorni
Karabakh. I congratulate you and the entire Armenian nation on
our chief holiday. Thirteen years ago the people of Artsakh made a
historical choice in favour of the creation of free and independent
Nagorni Karabakh. Time proved the rightness of this choice which was
marked with enormous effort of the people of Artsakh directed at the
defence of the young republic from foreign aggression, overcoming of
the hard consequences of the war, rehabilitation of the NKR economy,
its social and cultural spheres. Much was done in this short period
to build the statehood of Nagorni Karabakh based upon democracy and
protection of human rights. In the past thirteen years we managed to
create a corresponding legislative basis which enabled a successful
improvement of the economic complex of the country, the political,
legal and tax systems, as well as other spheres of life in NKR. The
recent elections to the local governments once again proved the
determination of the people and government of the Republic of
Nagorni Karabakh to follow the line of further democratization of
the public-political life of the country and building of a true
civil society in NKR. This irreparable process will soon find its
reflection in the Constitution of the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh,
which is presently being worked out. The success of the people of
Artsakh in the sphere of democratization does not pass unnoticed by
the foreign progressive forces. For most of them the fact that NKR is
not recognized is not a reason for prejudicial attitude. Fortunately,
the number of our friends abroad is growing day by day. I would like
to mention especially the growing role of the Armenian Diaspora in
the process of rehabilitation of Artsakh. I am convinced that this
role may be weightier in the international recognition of NKR. Life
goes on and we have a lot to fulfill. The government of the country
will carry on with its activity directed at the creation of new
jobs, and improvement of the social conditions of the insecure
part of the population and first of all the families of killed
azatamartiks, as well as pensioners, the disabled and families having
many children. At the same time we have to seriously deal with the
questions of a full exploitation of the economic potential of Nagorni
Karabakh, which will allow relieving social stratification within
the society. However, for creative work lasting peace is necessary,
therefore the government of the country will later continue paying
permanent attention to strengthening the NKR Defence Army. The
training of the army provided with modern armament displayed to the
enemies of Artsakh its effectiveness and ability to solve the most
complicated problems referring to the security of Nagorni Karabakh
and its people. I again confirm that the NKR government is absolutely
for the peaceful settlement of the conflict. I think if the government
of Azerbaijan shows good will and sincere wish to solve the Karabakh
conflict in mutually acceptable conditions, the efforts of the OSCE
Minsk Group may produce positive results. Nevertheless, I assure you
that no one can take away from us the freedom and independence gained
at such a high price. Peace and prosperity to you, dear people of
Artsakh. Livelong the Republic of Nagorni Karabakh!

AA.
04-09-2004

Children face deep trauma

The Star Online
Saturday September 4, 2004

PARIS: The children ensnared in the three-day hostage drama in North
Ossetia will have probably suffered major psychological damage and
some may never get over their ordeal completely, a French expert
warned yesterday.

Gilbert Vila, a paediatrician who specialises in child trauma at Necker
Hospital, said a child subjected to a deep shock of this kind was
likely to show a long range of symptoms, including anxiety, depression,
turbulence at school and problems in his family relationships.

“This case is of the gravest kind,” he said. “The psychological
problems will be major.”

Vila has authored several studies into the psychological impact on
children who suffer a catastrophic shock, including a group of primary
schoolchildren taken hostage at their school in the Paris suburb of
Neuilly in 1993.

Detailed research into Cambodian children who were tortured under
the Pol Pot regime and Armenian children who survived an earthquake
shows that, for most victims, the big symptoms will gradually ease
but for a minority, the problems will be lifelong, Vila said.

In those cases, 90% of the children showed significant trauma symptoms
during the first few weeks after their trauma.

That figure fell to 50% after six months, and to around 15% two or
three years later. Some, though, were never completely cured.

In the Cambodian study, “some children who were aged between eight
and 12 years at the time of their ordeal were still experiencing
problems at the age of 30,” he said.

More than half of the children in this category had problems that
seriously hampered their daily life.

As for very young children and babies, “we still lack data” on the
long-term repercussions, said Vila, noting however that there had been
cases of children younger than four “who showed the same post-trauma
symptoms as (US) Vietnam vets.” – AFP

STRATEGY OF ARMENIAN OPPOSITION’S STRUGGLE AGAINST LEADERSHIP UNDERWENT NO CHANGES

02.09.2004 18:39

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The strategy of the struggle undertaken by the
opposition against the leadership has not undergone any changes,
members of Justice opposition bloc stated at the sitting of the Council
today. They also noted that the political forces, which making part
of the bloc will continue to boycott the sittings of the Armenian
National Assembly and will struggle against the ruling regime outside
the parliament by organizing rallies in the capital city and regions.

A1 Plus | 19:58:41 | 01-09-2004 | Social |

THE CASE AGAINST A PPA MEMBER SUSPENDED

Today the Prosecutor’s Office of Erebuni-Nubarashen Commune has made
a decision to suspend the criminal case instituted against PPA member
Grisha Virabyan and to stop the criminal pursuit against him.

Virabyan was accused of resorting violence to a power representative.
“Liberty” Radio Station informs this.

Armenia says terrorists in N Ossetia challenged civilised world
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 1, 2004 Wednesday 2:21 PM Eastern Time

YEREVAN, September 1 — The news of the hostage-taking crisis in North
Ossetia raised feelings of indignation in Armenia, its President
Robert Kocharyan said in a message to Russian President Vladimir
Putin on Wednesday.

“By taking children hostage the terrorists challenged the whole
civilised world,” he said.

“At this hard time, the people of Armenia share the anguish and anxiety
of Russians. We strongly condemn any manifestation of terrorism and
express our support to the people and leadership of Russia in their
resolute fight against this evil,” the president said.

Azerbaijan court sentences NATO protesters

The News, Pakistan
Aug 31 2004

BAKU: A court in the former Soviet republic of Azerbiajan handed
out prison sentences Monday to protesters who had tried to storm
a conference of NATO officials in the Azeri capital two months
ago. The court found six protesters guilty of public order offences
and resisting arrest, and ordered that they should be sent to prison
for terms ranging from three to five years. The protesters had been
demonstrating about the presence at the NATO meeting of two officers
from Armenia’s armed forces. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war in
the early 1990s over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The
two neighbouring countries remain at a state of war, though there
is no large-scale fighting. Among those sentenced Monday was Akif
Nagi, leader of the hardline Karabakh Liberation Organisation,
which favours new military action against Armenia. He was given five
years in jail. Supporters and relatives of the convicted men staged
a protest in the courtroom when the sentences were handed down but
police dispersed them.

Court in Azerbaijan sentences Nagorno-Karabakh activists to prison terms

AP Worldstream
Aug 30, 2004

An Azerbaijani court on Monday handed down prison sentences to six
protesters arrested in June for causing disturbances at a NATO forum
attended by Armenian officers.

The defendants conviced by a court in the capital Baku are members of
the Organization for the Liberation of Karakbakh, a group that opposes
ethnic Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in
Azerbaijan that has been disputed since a war that ended in a decade
ago.

The organization’s head, Famil Nasibov, was sentenced to five years in
prison, his deputy Firidum Mammadov to three years, while three
members of the group’s youth branch received four-year
sentences. Their lawyers said they will appeal.

The protesters pushed through police cordons, broke glass doors and
stormed into a conference hall in Baku’ Europe hotel where a NATO
forum was being held in June, calling on Azerbaijan to stop
negotiating with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The protesters and hotel security guards suffered minor injuries in
the incident in the hotel and the meeting resumed in several minutes.

Armenian-backed forces took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding areas in a six-year war that killed some 30,000 people and
drove about a million from their homes.

A 1994 cease-fire has largely held, but no final settlement has been
reached, and the ongoing confrontation has hurt the economies of both
former Soviet republics.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are not NATO members, but both participate in
the alliance’s Partnership for Peace program.

Turkish Press
Aug 27 2004

Turkey: A `mediator’ Country
BYEGM: 8/27/2004
BY ZEYNEP GURCANLI

STAR- Only a few years ago, third countries used to act as mediators
between Turkey and its neighbors to resolve regional problems. For
example, the United States used telephone diplomacy in order to end
the Kardak crisis between Ankara and Athens, and Egypt did the same
to help Ankara and Damascus solve the so-called PKK problem.

Now, however, having managed to overcome its own crises, Turkey
itself is assuming such a role of mediation on the international
stage. Ankara’s only remaining problematic neighbor is Armenia.
Therefore, Turkey is gradually becoming a `mediator’ country in the
region.

The first case is the Arab-Israeli dispute. Ankara doesn’t have any
political problems with the Palestinians. Furthermore, despite the
recent chill between the Erdogan and Sharon governments, our country
doesn’t have any serious problems with Israel either. Ankara recently
announced that it was ready to act as a `facilitator’ in the Middle
East peace process. The Palestinians have immediately accepted
Turkey’s offer, while the Sharon government hasn’t rejected it.

During Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Tbilisi,
Turkey agreed to undertake another mediation role. The Georgian
president asked Erdogan’s help in normalizing his country’s relations
with Russia. Our premier pledged to discuss this issue with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, who is scheduled to visit Turkey next week.

In addition, a surprising request came from Sudan. Since 2003, Arab
militias have been launching systematic attacks on non-Arab tribes in
the country. Meanwhile, the international community is accusing the
Sudanese administration of turning a blind eye to these attacks and
even supporting these militias for the sake of `assimilating non-Arab
elements.’ Washington branded the incidents a `genocide.’ On his
visit to Ankara last month, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman
Ismael requested that Ankara act as a mediator between his country
and the US. This was also another unexpected request. Turkey then
took actions to help them overcome the crisis.

I believe the number of such cases where Turkey acts as negotiator
will rise in the months to come. Our country, once a party to many
regional crises, is now becoming a `crisis-resolving country’.