Category: News

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 18 2004

PARTIES KEEN TO DEVELOP LINKS
[March 17, 2004, 21:24:19]

Mr. Andris Viltsanis, the newly appointed Ambassador of Latvia to
Azerbaijan, met with members of the Milli Majlis Azerbaijan-Latvia
interparliamentary friendship group March 16. The groups’ head,
deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis Standing Commission on International
and Interparliamentary Relations Mrs. Gultakin Hajiyeva congratulated
the Ambassador on the new appointment, provided him with detailed
information on the activity of the Azerbaijan Parliament, and legal
reforms carried out in the country. ‘Azerbaijan is most developed
country in the Southern Caucasus and is interstes in expanding links
with Latvia,’ she said.

Mrs. Gultakin Hajiyeva also touched upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh pointing out the fair position of
Azerbaijan in this issue, and expressed gratitude to the Latvian
Republic’s officials for supporting Azerbaijan in peace process.

The Latvian Ambassador thanked for the warm meeting and detailed
information, and noted that his country is also very interested in
development of bilateral relationship. `The main goal of the meeting
is to negotiate the matter,’ said Mr. Viltsanis.

Afterwards, the meeting participants exchanged views on the issues of
mutual interest.

Azeri opposition paper says Russia and the West behind Georgian events

Azadliq, Baku
17 Mar 04 p 4

An Azerbaijani opposition daily has said that the stand-off between
Georgia and its autonomous province of Ajaria is a local row with
international repercussions. “This incident is not a conflict between
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and Aslan Abashidze, but a
result of contradictions between the West and Russia,” Azadliq
said. The paper added that Russia has a military base in the province
and backs Abashidze, while the USA, wants Russia to withdraw its bases
from Georgia because it worries that instability in Georgia will
jeopardize a multi-billion-dollar oil pipeline project from Baku to
Ceyhan via Tbilisi. It also accused government-controlled media of
covering the Georgian-Ajaria row “one-sidedly” in favour of the
province and not covering Georgia’s stance “sufficiently”. “If
Azerbaijan shows support for the Abashidze regime, which is being
ruled from Moscow, through official media and TV channels, that would
mean Azerbaijan’s position is similar to that of Russia and Armenia,
but not that of the West,” it said. The following is the text of
Bahaddin Haziyev’s report by the Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq on 17
March headlined “Support for Ajaria’s Gukasyan?”, subheaded “The
Georgian events and Azerbaijan: questions and attempts to answer”;
subheadings are as published:

First question

Is our society informed well enough and impartially about the Georgian
events?

All government-controlled media outlets, including TV channels, are
covering these events one-sidedly. They are mainly casting light on
the position of Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze and his supporters,
while the Georgian government’s position is not being sufficiently
covered. In addition, Tbilisi is being criticized continuously and
severely. That is why Azerbaijani society is by and large unaware of
the real situation.

Second question

Azerbaijan had always and unequivocally supported the Georgian
government’s position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But why is Baku
taking a different position now?

First, let us look at the legal aspect of the issue. Azerbaijan sticks
to i nternational legal principles such as territorial integrity and
sovereignty of countries (and fairly supports Georgia’s territorial
integrity and sovereignty).

Second, there is the political side to the issue as well. [Former
President Eduard] Shevardnadze headed Georgia and therefore, the
ruling family in Baku supported its Georgian friend, brother and
partner. Shevardnadze left, but his smaller prototype Abashidze is
still here. The Azerbaijani government has not issued an official
statement in support of Abashidze. But it has not also recognized
openly Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Azerbaijan
should have unambiguously supported Georgia’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty irrespective of who the Georgian president is and
should have expressed an appropriate attitude to separatism.

Third question

Is this position on Georgia in the interests of Azerbaijan?

It is not. In this case, the principles of international law and the
Azerbaijani government’s political interests do not coincide. In many
cases, the interests of the Azerbaijani state and government
fundamentally differ. The Azerbaijani government adheres only to its
own interests when these differences appear. There is a threat now
that the Azerbaijani government might choose its interests over the
interests of the state.

Fourth question

What are the political interests of the Azerbaijani government on this
issue? What is the link between the Aliyev’s and Abashidze.

First, there is an internal factor. The democrats won in Georgia. The
former communist nomenclature in Azerbaijan retained its power by
pushing [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev forward. The system which
Abashidze established in Ajaria is a smaller replica of the Aliyev
regime in Azerbaijan. Ajaria’s involvement in the process of
democratization turns Georgia into an example to Azerbaijan in its
domestic policies.

Second, there is a geopolitical factor. This incident is not a
conflict between [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili and
Abashidze, but a result of contradictions between the West and
Russia. The West, especially the USA, wants Russia to withdraw its
bases from Georgia. One such base is in Ajaria and another in
Javakheti which is closely populated by Armenians. For this reason,
Russia puts the Javakhk Armenians against the Georgian central
government to make Tbilisi give up its demands that the Russian troops
be withdrawn. If Azerbaijan shows support for the Abashidze regime,
which is being ruled from Moscow, through official media and TV
channels, that would mean Azerbaijan’s position is similar to that of
Russia and Armenia, but not that of the West.

Third, the Azerbaijani ruling family and Abashidze have joint business
interests in the port of Batumi and of course, officials in Baku are
not interested in the defeat of their business partners.

Fifth question

The fact that the Ajarians are Muslims is being publicized
unofficially. What will happen if this turns into Baku’s main
argument?

That would mean double standards: One approach to Russia’s Muslim
Chechens and another approach to Georgia’s Muslim Ajarians. But this
kind of approach would make it difficult for Azerbaijan, which is
suffering from Armenian separatism in Nagornyy Karabakh, to ensure
that its fair position is supported by the international community.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 18 2004

US in race for influence in South Caucasus

Last week the United States sent three onsecutive ‘delegations of
landing troops’ to the capital. Emissaries of the Department of State
and military made up the majority of the members of the delegations.
The delegation of the U.S. college of Air Forces, which arrived in
Baku early last week,

was led by a top officer and also included Lynn Paskoe, Assistance
Secretary of State. However, leading the third U.S. delegation to
Baku was General Charles Wald, Deputy Commander of the U.S. European
Command. Admiral Gregory Johnson, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in
Europe and Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Southern Europe,
was also among the delegates.

On March 11, a U.S. delegation led by Bruce Rogers, U.S. Deputy
Political Advisor of NATO’s mission, and Erik Schultz, the U.S. State
Department’s Deputy Director on security and political issues in
Europe, held important meetings in Baku. The aim of the three
delegations’ visits was to discuss political and military issues but
not economic ones, as the issues on economic relations including on
the financing of the BTC pipeline have already been settled. Today,
the United States is eager to solve some questions in Azerbaijan.
First, it is trying to direct the leadership of Azerbaijan towards
conducting economic and political reforms in the country. According
to a diplomatic source, the economic and political reforms were one
of the primary issues discussed at President Ilham Aliyev’s meeting
with Lynn Paskoe. During the unofficial meeting one of the U.S.
delegates even stated that Azerbaijan has to take real steps in this
respect, noting that the United States will wait only three more
months. The delegate stressed that if during this period no serious
steps were taken in the direction of reforms, the United States would
find it hard to believe that the leadership of Azerbaijan would
manage to integrate the country into the Euro-Atlantic structures.
The second problem that the United States wants to settle is not to
give the initiative in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus to the
European Union (EU) and Russia. The United States wants to see the
South Caucasus countries as ones pursuing the U.S. government’s
policy in the EU. Pointing to the EU’s increasing interest towards
Azerbaijan, Lynn Paskoe directly stated that the United States was
not willing to ‘lag behind’ in this rivalry. He also voiced his
desire to exchange views with President Ilham Aliyev on ‘great
changes’ in the region. However, Azerbaijan and Georgia should be
admitted to NATO soon so that the United States could achieve its
goals. For this purpose, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces should be
brought to NATO standards. Above all, it is necessary to settle the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Garabagh. Reno Harnish, the
U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, who also took part in the meeting of
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev with Erik Schultz and Bruce
Rogers, stated that the United States and NATO are eager to cooperate
with the South Caucasus countries including Azerbaijan and establish
stability in the region. The U.S. government is waiting for Safar
Abiyev to visit Washington to define the ways for bilateral military
cooperation. Abiyev’s standpoint is that of the Azerbaijani state and
people. While receiving the delegation of the U.S. college of Air
Forces on March 9, the defense minister said, “Today, the primary
duty of the Azerbaijani Army is to liberate our lands from Armenian
occupation. It would be better if the Upper Garabagh conflict were
solved peacefully within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and
international legal norms. If no peace is achieved, we will free our
lands by any means necessary.” A U.S. delegation led by General
Charles Wald, who visited Baku on March 12-13, concluded the ‘U.S.
week in Baku’.

The meetings
On Saturday President Ilham Aliyev received a U.S. delegation led by
General Charles “Chuck” Wald, Deputy Commander of the U.S. European
Command. A two-day visit by the Senior Advisory Group (SAG) of the
U.S. European Command started on Friday.

NATO to expand strategic cooperation
The U.S. delegation of senior government and military officials
included Admiral Gregory G. Johns, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in
Europe and Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Southern Europe,
Ambassador Kenneth L. Brown, Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas,
Ambassador Lloyd Hand and Ambassador Robert Hunter. Noting that the
Azerbaijani-U.S. relations are developing successfully in all
spheres, President Aliyev said that bilateral cooperation was of
great importance to strengthen peace and security in the region.
Underlining that Azerbaijan plays a very important role in ensuring
security in the region, Aliyev underlined that he backed the peaceful
solution to conflicts within the international legal norms. Aliyev
stressed that Azerbaijan was an ally of the United States anti-terror
combat and this alliance would continue in the future. The
Azerbaijani President further voiced his confidence that his country
would continue to cooperate with the United States to ensure the
security of pipelines as part of the Caspian Energy Resources
Development program. Touching upon the fight against global
terrorism, General Wald stressed that the recent terror attack
committed in Spain once again showed the necessity for broad
cooperation in this field. Underlining that the Caspian border guard
program is continuing successfully, General Wald expressed the
necessity for close cooperation among the Caspian states in this
respect. He particularly stressed that Azerbaijan’s current foreign
policy suggested that there would be positive changes in the
settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Garabagh.
At the meeting with Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abiyev on Saturday,
General Wald stressed that NATO intended to expand strategic
cooperation with Azerbaijan and assist in guarding this country’s
energy resources. He also expressed his gratitude to the leadership
of Azerbaijan for the country’s active role in fighting international
terrorism. Admiral Johnson said, “Azerbaijan has rich natural
resources in the Caspian Sea. The cooperation between the U.S. navy
and the Azerbaijani navy may ensure the security of these resources.
Joint activities in programs on non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction are also included in the sphere of this cooperation.”
Touching upon the Cooperative Best Effort-2004 desert training held
in Azerbaijan, Admiral Johnson stressed that “the high-level
organization of the training would reaffirm that Azerbaijan was a
leading country in the region.”
Briefing
The U.S. delegation held a briefing at the International Press Center
on Saturday. General Charles Wald said that the aim of the visit was
to develop “strategic and military cooperation with Azerbaijan and to
discuss future cooperation in this sphere with President Ilham
Aliyev.” Underlining that the United States doesn’t intend to station
its military bases in the region, General Wald said military
relations would also be established with Russia. Noting that his
meeting with President Ilham Aliyev made a deep impression on him,
the General said, “Ilham Aliyev is a prominent person in this
region.” Admiral Johnson said that together with Azerbaijani Defense
Minister Safar Abiyev he observed the Azerbaijani Navy and Border
Service. Johnson underlined that during his meeting with Abiyev,
fighting international terrorism, joint activity in the
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and on maintenance
of stability in the region were in focus. Further, Admiral Johnson
thanked the Azerbaijani government for assuming the organization of
NATO training to be arranged in Baku this April with participation of
seventeen countries as part of the NATO’s Partnership for Peace
Program.

Los Angeles Daily News
March 18 2004

Police release sketch of killer
Suspect is sought in freeway shooting

By City News Service

Los Angeles police released a composite drawing Wednesday of a
suspect in a fatal freeway shooting.

The shooting occurred in the early hours of March 9 when Garen
Ketikyan, 20, was driving a black 1999 Mercury Marquis north on the
Hollywood (170) Freeway in North Hollywood, Los Angeles police
Officer Jason Lee said.

Ketikyan died at the scene.

The suspect car was driven next to Ketikyan’s car near the Sherman
Way exit, and a passenger leaned out the window and fired several
gunshots, fatally wounding the victim, Lee said.

The suspect car was a newer white Ford Mustang with low-profile
tires, chrome rims and xenon headlights that gave off a blue tint,
Lee said. After the shooting, it was driven north, and merged onto
the northbound Golden State Freeway.

The shooting suspect was described as an Armenian man in his early
20s with a muscular build, Lee said.

At the time, police said the shooting may have been the result of
road rage.

Police officers who were nearby heard 10 to 15 shots ring out, and
investigators later recovered several shell casings on the freeway,
Detective Mike Coffey said.

Ketikyan, who was driving home after visiting a friend in Glendale,
was shot once in the head, Coffey said.

A 20-year-old passenger in the Mercury said they had gotten into a
brief confrontation 10 minutes earlier at a stoplight at Oxnard
Street and Victory Boulevard with two men on motorcycles, Coffey
said.

The victim honked at the motorcyclists when they failed to move when
the stoplight turned green, the detective said.

“This caused the two Armenian males on motorcycles to get off their
motorcycles, take their helmets off and walk back aggressively
towards Garen and (the passenger) in the car,” Coffey said. “Nothing
transpired. No words were spoken, but they just felt intimidated.”

Afterward, on the freeway, a newer white Mustang with chrome wheels
and dealer plates pulled up alongside the Mercury and someone inside
opened fire, he said.

The passenger told police he believes the motorcyclists could have
gotten into the Mustang and chased after them, and investigators are
trying to determine if that happened, Coffey said.

The victim’s brother, Harut Ketikyan, said that his brother was hard-
working, stayed out of trouble and did everything he could for his
family.

Their mother was crushed by the news, as was he, Ketikyan said.

“She’s not doing well,” he said, his voice breaking. “When I left the
house, she was holding his baby picture and crying, so she’s not
taking his death too well.”

He said his brother “worked hard day and night to be helpful to his
family. He was going to school, trying to get his degree to go
forward, get a nice job.”

Anyone with further information on the case was asked to call police
homicide detectives at (818) 623-4075.

Interfax
March 18 2004

Armenian Central Bank reserves up 15.9%

Yerevan. (Interfax) – Gross international reserves at the Central
Bank of Armenia increased 15.9% or by $70.2 million to $511.9 million
in 2003, a source in the bank told Interfax.

The source said that the share of the euro in international reserves
last year increased to 24%. However, he did not say by how much this
share increased.

The source also said that the Armenian Central Bank reduced to
nothing the share of gold in the gross reserves in 2003. “This is due
to the fact that yields on gold investments have fallen significantly
recently, which has led to a reduction in the attractiveness of gold
as an investment asset,’ the source said.

As of January 1, 2003 the Armenian Central Bank’s gross international
reserves amounted to $441.7 million, of which gold accounted for
$15.7 million.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 18 2004

MPs hesitant to visit Armenia

A meeting of the Committee on cultural, educational and social issues
of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Organization (BSEC) is scheduled to be held in Yerevan,
Armenia on March 24-25.

Poverty reduction in the Black Sea member states and reports on
solutions to social problems will be discussed at the gathering.
Azerbaijani MPs are refusing to attend the Yerevan meeting. The
question of whether the Azerbaijani MPs would visit Yerevan was yet
to be decided.

He noted that the final decision would be made in mid-March. Armenian
MPs were absent from the committee’s previous meetings held in
Azerbaijan.

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 18 2004

New OSCE chairman examines conflict situation

Solomon Passy, Bulgarian Foreign Minister, who took office as the
OSCE chairman on January 1, paid a fact-finding visit to Azerbaijan
on March 15 as part of his tour of the South Caucasus region.

During the visit Passy met with President Ilham Aliyev and government
representatives to learn about the status of the Upper Garabagh
conflict. According to Novruz Mammadov, head of the International
Relations Department of the President’s Palace, the OSCE chairman may
define his standpoint on the conflict after the Baku visit.

“The present-day political situation in Armenia indicates that the
Armenian government was not ready to make compromises,” underlined
Mammadov, stressing that such a standpoint to the conflict is not
good for Armenia.

Meetings
The new OSCE chairman held meetings with President Ilham Aliyev and
Speaker of the Milli Majlis (parliament) Murtuz Alasgarov on Tuesday.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Garabagh and the
strengthening of the OSCE, including the Minsk Group co-chairs’,
efforts to settle the conflict peacefully were a focus of the
meetings. Saying that the international community approaches the
conflict with double standards, speaker Alasgarov reminded the OSCE
chairman about the decisions adopted by the Council of Europe in 2002
and 2004 as well as the United Nations Security Council’s four
resolutions. The Speaker said that Azerbaijan had rejected the
Armenian government’s proposal on the restoration of communications
links in return for the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from
five of the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. The OSCE chairman, in turn,
said the conflict could be solved through dialogue, noting that
Azerbaijan and Armenia should continue talks and take a constructive
position. Passy stressed that the OSCE could only offer its support
during the talks. During the meeting with President, the parties
expressed their confidence that the conflict, which poses a great
threat to the South Caucasus region, would be solved under
international legal norms. It was particularly stressed that the
conflict could be settled only after Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity was restored and refugees and internally displaced persons
were returned to their native lands. Expressing his satisfaction with
the OSCE chairman’s visit, President Aliyev elaborated on the
positive results of the reforms conducted and democratic processes
underway in the country. Noting that the primary goal is to integrate
into Europe, Aliyev spoke about Azerbaijan’s participation in large
scale international projects.

By Azernews Staff

San Diego Union Tribune
March 18 2004

Russian, Armenian community targeted
By Joe Hughes
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Two Russian immigrants have been arrested in connection with a scheme
to defraud members of San Diego’s Russian and Armenian community out
of hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said yesterday.

Yasha Kuper, 55, and his son, Roman Kuper, 28, were held last week,
Detective Christine Gregg said.

Bail for Roman Kuper was set at $1 million. Yasha Kuper posted
$10,000 bail after his arrest, but a second arrest warrant has been
issued and he is scheduled to surrender this week, Gregg said.

Sixteen victims have been identified, but that list will grow, police
said.

“We feel there are many other victims out there who are afraid to
come forward,” Gregg said. “We want these people to contact us if
they have had dealings with the Kupers.”

The Kupers, Gregg said, told victims that they were new to the
country and did not have Social Security numbers or bank accounts.
Victims allegedly were duped into providing their bank account
numbers on the premise that money would be wired from the Kupers’
accounts in Russia to the victims’ accounts here.

In exchange for helping out, the victims were told they could collect
a portion of the Kupers’ funds, police said.

Money was never transferred from Russia, Gregg said, and the victims
later found their accounts had been cleaned out.

Victims were solicited, Greg said, through advertisements placed in
Russian-language newspapers.

The Kupers moved to San Diego from Chicago late last year.

Police ask that anyone who has been victimized in the scam call Gregg
at (619) 528-4100.

The Free Lance-Star, VA
March 18 2004

Work by Picasso, Miró, others at MWC

Picassos, Pissarros and Mirós are included in the art collection of
Tia and Robert Cadow. The paintings can be seen at the Ridderhof
Martin Gallery on the MWC campus.

By ADELE UPHAUS
THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Alexandra Nechita is just 18, but she’s already one of the most
recognized names in the art world.

The Romanian-born child prodigy started drawing with pen and ink when
she was 2 years old and held her first show at the age of 8.

Today, she’s known as the “petite Picasso,” and her colorful cubist
paintings, which often go to benefit organizations like the September
11th Fund and the Special Olympics, sell out to masses of art
collectors.

Fredericksburg residents can see two of Nechita’s original paintings
at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery on the MWC campus in a show opening
tonight. They also can see a work by her inspiration–Pablo Picasso
himself–and art by other 20th century masters such as Joan Miró,
Camille Pissarro and Marc Chagall.

“Contemporary Masters: Selected Works From a Private Collection” will
be on display at the gallery through June 6, with an opening
reception tonight.

The collection belongs to local couple Robert and Tia Cadow, who own
Fredericksburg Supplies and Rentals near Four-Mile Fork. The show
represents a wide variety of 20th-century genres, from impressionism
to abstraction. Tying it together are themes of color, vitality and
romance.

“They’re all very different styles–it’s a nice mix,” Tia Cadow said
of the collection.

Not only is the collection varied by style, it’s also a veritable
United Nations of artists. There’s the Spanish Picasso and Miró, the
French Pissarro and the Russian Chagal. There’s work by the
Armenian-born Yuroz, whose bright, abstract paintings depict quietly
intimate moments between couples, and vigorous character studies by
Italian Aldo Luongo, who dedicated a painting of a red-haired
ballerina to Tia Cadow.

The collection also includes cartoonist Al Hirschfeld and Iranian
Abrishami Hessam, whose color-washed canvases look like something
from a daydream.

Cadow said she and her husband purchased their first piece of art in
1990–a seriograph, or limited edition print, by Linnea Pergola,
depicting a bustling Times Square cityscape. After that, she was
hooked.

“It just started,” she said.

She doesn’t consider herself or her husband “into art” in the sense
that they feel they need to buy a certain painting in order to
complete their collection. Rather, she purchases art when it appeals
to her.

“We buy them because we like them, not because of value. They’re
fun,” Cadow said.

For the most part, the works that appeal to her are bold, lively and
colorful, such as “Friendship” by Aldo Luongo, which depicts three
women with champagne glasses raised high, and a street scene by
Pissarro, which the couple acquired from London only two weeks ago.

“It shows all the street painters and it’s very colorful,” she said.

The Cadows also own several works by local artists and are fans of
the local art scene.

The collection has never been exhibited before, Cadow said. The
exhibition came about because the college is their client and Cadow
offered to lend the paintings to the gallery.

“I’m excited about it,” she said. “I’m excited to see people’s
reactions. The paintings are fun to look at. They’re just very
colorful.”

A1 Plus | 19:38:15 | 18-03-2004 | Official |

ARMENIAN CITIZENS DETAINED IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA

On the 8th of March 2004, in the evening, 6 citizens of the Republic of
Armenia were detained in Equatorial Guinea. They have been charged with
participating in a coup d’etat attempt. There are a number of civilian
pilots of Armenian citizenship who work in the countries of Equatorial
Africa, on contracts with private aircraft companies.{BR}

In this matter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia
has made all possible efforts to obtain more specific information on this
situation as well as in providing the necessary legal assistance to those
Armenian citizens. Armenia’s ambassadors in New York and Moscow have met
with their counterparts from Equatorial Guinea.

At the same time, taking into consideration the fact, that the Republic of
Armenia has no diplomatic representation in the region, the Ministry has
applied to third country friendly states with certain influence in that
country for possible assistance.

—