Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 19 2004

European Ombudsmen to be informed about evidence on January slaughter

Ombudsperson Elmira Suleymanova says that she intends to inform
European Ombudsmen about the realities of Azerbaijan’s January 20
tragedy in a meeting to be held in Vienna, Austria on Friday.
Suleymanova said that she will provide the meeting participants with
evidence on the January massacre, Khojaly genocide and Armenia’s
policy of aggression against Azerbaijan. The Ombudsman intends to
have the evidence included in the website of the European Ombudsmen.
During her visit, Suleymanova is expected to attend an event
dedicated to the January tragedy to be attended by Azerbaijanis
living in Austria.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 19 2004

Armenia dispatches military contingent to Iraq

A 46-member Armenian military contingent left for Iraq on Tuesday.
The Armenian servicemen will serve within the Polish military
contingent for 6 months, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported.
The decision to dispatch officers to Iraq was adopted by the Armenian
parliament on December 24, 2004.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 19 2004

`Neftchi’ to face Armenian club

Azerbaijan’s last champion, Neftchi football club, will face
Armenia’s Punik in the ¼ finals of the Commonwealth Cup tournament on
Wednesday.
The Armenian team qualified for the quarterfinals after drawing
Latvia’s Skonto – 2:2.
Neftchi had 1:0 and 4:1 wins over Moldova’s Sherif and Turkmenistan’s
Nebitchi respectively in the Commonwealth Cup tournament.*

Toronto Star, Canada
Jan 19 2004

The Arab Quarter
Tour a strip of Lawrence Ave. E. in Scarborough and discover `a mecca
of Middle Eastern delights’

HABEEB SALLOUM
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

The aroma flowing out from the freshly baked fatyir bi za’tar is
mouthwatering as my daughter and I sit down to have our breakfast at
Arz Fine Foods on Lawrence Ave. E. on a strip called “the Arab
Quarter” by Toronto residents who originate from the Middle East.

There’s no question about what our breakfast will be – these tasty
thyme pies, along with the famous Middle Eastern breakfast dish
called ful (cooked fava beans). As we eat, I wonder why the Arab
immigrants have transformed a few blocks of Lawrence in Scarborough
into Arab town.

I put this question to Jack Boyadjian, vice-president of Arz Bakery &
Fine Foods, who sits down to chat with us. He relates the story of
how his family opened a bakery on the Arab strip 16 years ago. It has
done so well, they moved into a larger space.

“When we were looking for a spot in Toronto to open a Middle Eastern
business, we found that the two Arab grocery businesses on the strip,
the Green Valley, now long gone, and Nasr Foods, were prospering,”
recalls Boyadjian, a Lebanese of Armenian origin. “We had also found
that a large Middle Eastern community lived in the area, so we moved
in.”

Labelled by its fans as “a mecca of Middle Eastern delights,” Arz is
a popular shopping centre that keeps expanding. Like many other Arab
Middle Eastern shops on the strip, some 60 per cent of the customers
are of Mediterranean background, while the balance are other
Canadians.

Besides Arz, at least 40 outlets on Lawrence between Victoria Park
Ave. and Warden Ave. cater mainly to Middle Eastern clientele. More
than 30 are food establishments, including Middle Eastern grocery
stores, cafés and restaurants. (Some 95 per cent are concentrated
from just before Pharmacy Ave. to just past Warden Ave.)

The strip’s businesspeople refer to it by various names – including
Toronto’s Arab Section, Scarborough Arab Section and Lawrence Ave.
Arab Stores. The most popular is the Arab Section, or Mantaqat
al-Arabiya. Shoppers tend to identify it by the major grocery stores:
Arz or Nasr Foods.

Nasr is the pioneer Arab business on the strip. It is owned by the
Palestinian Nasr family. Nasr’s early success, beginning in 1975,
drew other businesses to the area. They opened shops next to each
other, forming the largest Arab Quarter in Ontario – the Chinatown or
Little India of Toronto’s Arabs.

Sated from our fine Middle Eastern breakfast, we decide to stroll the
strip, window-shopping for Arab food utensils and artisan products.
We find that only Arz and Nasr carry a good supply of these products.
However, in searching for these goods, we make a thorough exploration
for future purchases of these and Arab food items.

Feeling hungry again, we walk to Nasib’s Shawarma and Falafel, noted
for its shawarma and falafel sandwiches.

We order falafel sandwiches and, true to what we had heard, the
sandwich is huge and the falafel patties are light, crispy and tasty.
The owner, Emad Bahloul, of Palestinian origin, says his food has
become so popular with Canadians that his customers are now equally
split between Middle Eastern and others.

“I use a secret ingredient in my falafel,” he says. “This is what
draws my customers.”

With the succulent taste of the falafel in our mouths, we shop for
Arab foods for a party we’re hosting the next day. From the Babil
Middle East Market, owned by Abu Riyad, an Iraqi, we purchase Iraqi
date syrup and dates. From the Lebanese Bakery, we collect cheese and
meat pies, as well as kubbah (meat and bulgur patties).

Walking back on the north side of Lawrence, we stop at the Lotus
Catering & Fine Foods, a busy establishment owned by an Egyptian
family. The always jolly Mabrouka Saleh, the owner’s mother,
explains: “We are very busy because not only do we serve
Arab-Canadians, but all other Canadians as well. Also, our tasty
dishes bring us repeat customers. Just try these!” The hospitable
Saleh offers us tidbits of some of her fascinating speciality
Egyptian appetizers.

Next door, we stop at Basse Golden Nuts, owned by a Syrian, to
purchase roasted and candied nuts, as well as dried fruits.
Struggling with our bags, now somewhat heavy, we walk to Samara to
buy freshly ground Arab coffee, before walking to Hassan & Bros. Meat
Market to buy a leg of lamb, which we intend to barbecue for our
party. As is usual when buying meat in all Arab stores, the Lebanese
owner cuts the leg in perfect chunks for the barbecue.

(Other meat markets on the strip include Ghadir Meat Market, Ibrahim
Hallal Meat, El Rida Hallal Meat, Alzahraa Halal Meat and Liban Food
Market.)

When passing Challal Pastries earlier, we neglected to buy Arab
pastries, so we walk for a few minutes more, then cross Pharmacy Ave.
to Patisserie Royale. Here, we purchase baklava, the king of Arab
sweets, before returning home to deposit our purchases and rest.

Revived, we decide to dine at the Ameer Family Restaurant at the
eastern tip of the strip.

In the midst of cozy decor and served by friendly staff, we enjoy
grilled fish and juicy, tender boneless marinated chicken with garlic
sauce. When we compliment Hassan Sbeity, the Lebanese owner, he
smiles. “Everyone loves our garlic sauce which we usually serve with
our grilled chicken.”

Happy after our fine meal, we cross the street and walk to the Oasis
Restaurant. Here, as customers in the next room puff on their
arghilles (water pipes), we sip on Arab coffee and talk to Lebanese
owner Hussein Ayoub.

“I opened on this strip because of the concentration of Arabs in this
area, but today, only 50 per cent of my customers are Arabs,” Ayoub
says.

The Oasis is an enjoyable climax to our day of exploring the Arab
Quarter. Well-known to the vast majority of people of Middle Eastern
origin who live in the eastern part of Toronto, the strip is a
well-established Middle Eastern shopping destination.

No matter what differences people from that part of the world might
have, there is no preference where they shop. The best prices draw
the customers. The potpourri of businesspeople from the Middle
Eastern, Mediterranean and the Asian regions generally works together
advising and buying from each other.

However, for the Arabs who form the core of this burgeoning area, it
is a neighbourhood reflecting the Arab world. The strip is like an
Arab mall created mostly by immigrants who became successful
entrepreneurs while catering to the taste of fellow immigrants and at
the same time introducing their foods to other Canadians.

The future looks bright for the strip.

The Wexford Heights Business Improvement group, an association of
businesspeople and a municipal councillor representing the area, has
great plans for the Arab Quarter in the coming years. Wexford began
its activities in early July with a three-day street festival, which
included rides, music, folkloric dancing and much more. It will
become an annual event.

According to Anthony Kiriakou, president of Wexford Business, which
has a representative of Nasr Foods as one of its members, hopes more
of the businesses will get involved. The association aims to inject
the area with a community spirit, which would include Arab and
non-Arab Canadians.

The group has plans to make the strip more attractive – as inviting
as the Greek strip along Danforth.

In Kiriakou’s words: “We are open for business.”

Garlic Sauce (Thoum)

This Ameer Family Restaurant recipe is served cold with all kinds of
grilled meats. Although Canadian raw eggs are generally considered
safe, dietitians don’t recommend them for the very young or old, or
those with compromised immune systems. As an alternative, pasteurized
eggs are sold in refrigerated cartons in supermarkets.

Peeled cloves from 1 head garlic

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

In blender, purée garlic, egg and salt 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in
oil; blend 1 minute. Add lemon juice. Blend 5 minutes or until sauce
reaches whipped cream texture.

Serve cold.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Jerusalem Post
Jan 19 2005

On this Day

On this day
By ALEXANDER ZVIELLI

50 years ago:
On January 19, 1955, The Jerusalem Post reported that finance
minister Levi Eshkol announced far-reaching, further incentives for
foreign investors.

Israel told the UN that it would not accept any solution to the
question of the Bat Galim vessel, impounded by Egypt, that would not
provide for the ship to proceed through the Suez Canal to Haifa.

Israel also drew the UN’s attention to the continued Syrian attempts
to arrogate to itself, by force, rights in the Demilitarized Zones to
which Syria was not entitled. This was also the reason Israel turned
down the suggestion, made by general Burns, chief of staff of the
Truce Supervision Organization, to partition the Demilitarized Zone
into two administrative areas. Israel held that it had exclusive
rights in these areas under the relevant pasages of the Armistice
Agreements. (All such disputes referred to the pre-1967 armistice
lines.)

350 Armenians crossed into the Jordanian-occupied Old City of
Jerusalem and Bethlehem to celebrate their Christmas (across the
pre-1967 armistice lines).

The Kibbutz Dati refused to join the merger of the Mizrahi and Hapoel
Hamizrahi movements.

The percentage of locally mined clay used by the Israeli ceramic
industry had risen from less than 30% in 1951 to 80% in 1954.

Not all Armenian opinion favours sending contingent to Iraq, paper says

Haykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
18 Jan 05

Text of report by Avetis Babadzanyan entitled “People in the streets”
published in the Armenian newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak on 18 January

When it was announced that during his visit to Poland Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan had signed an agreement about sending an
Armenian contingent to Iraq, many public organizations in Armenia saw
this as an anti-Armenian and anti-national step, promising not to let
it happen. Today [18 January] when the contingent goes to Iraq, these
organizations have got nothing to say or do. The Intelligentsia Forum
that was making the most threatening statements and promised to draw
people onto the streets, is silent today. A member of the political
board of the Intelligentsia Forum Garnik Markaryan does not rule out
that nevertheless they can draw people onto the streets, but a
question arises, what is the sense of going onto the streets when the
contingent is already in Iraq ?

The Armenian people should show to the Arab world that the contingent
was sent to Iraq by the decision of one or two people who ignore a
view of the Armenian people and who are not supported by the Armenian
people. It turns out we are playing a double game: on one hand the
authorities send a contingent to Iraq, on the other we are trying to
persuade the Arab world that the Armenian people condemn those who
made the decision to send the troops. And the Arab world forgives the
Armenian people, understanding that they should punish not the local
Armenian communities but blame the authorities.

One more thing. The leader of the Armenian Aryan Union Armen
Avetisyan, who earlier formed the volunteer team for supporting the
people of Iraq in their fight against occupation, today is just sorry
that quite the contrary event is taking place and a military
contingent is going to Iraq to support the occupants.

“We warned that carrying out such a decision would be understood
negatively in the Arab world and not only local Armenians will feel
its consequences but Armenia as well. When terror actions happen in
Armenia, when we have the first victims in Iraq, then everybody will
understand that the authorities are responsible for this. Then the
people, without being urged, will go onto the streets, forcing the
authorities to bring the contingent back,” he predicts.

The head of the Gnchakyan Party Lyudmila Sarkisyan also confirms that
sending the Armenian contingent to Iraq will have some influence on
the Armenian communities of the Middle East. In December of last year
she signed a statement with the leader of the Social-Democratic Party
A. Martirosyan threatening that in the event that such a decision was
adopted, they would start the impeachment process against Robert
Kocharyan.

“We receive many telephone calls from our compatriots from Syria and
Lebanon, that the Armenian communities of these countries have a short
life. They say that if before this decision Armenians were regarded as
a friendly and entrepreneurial people, today they are seen as
ungrateful traitors. Today a variety of obstacles are being set up,
especially in Syria, preventing them from carrying out their
business,” Sarkisyan says. She said Armenians were looking for ways to
emigrate to the USA, Europe and some to Armenia.

As for the Liberated Territories Protection public initiative, this is
also silent, although its secretary Armen Agayan described the
decision to send a contingent to Iraq as a national betrayal.

Armenia marks 15th anniversary of Baku pogroms

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
19 Jan 05

[Presenter] A march to mark the 15th anniversary of the Baku pogroms
of 1990 took place at 1200 [0800 gmt] today at the Tsitsernakaberd
memorial of the genocide victims. Our correspondent Gayane Davtyan is
also in Tsitsernakaberd.

[Correspondent from Tsitsernakaberd] Many politicians and people are
here today to commemorate the victims. The prime minister’s advisor
Granush Kharatyan is also here.

Ms Kharatyan, do you think it is high time to remind the international
community about what took place 15 years ago and what is being done in
Armenia today in this direction?

[Granush Kharatyan, captioned] This is our everyday pain and this is a
good opportunity to call on the international community and people all
over the world to be watchful, because this is not only our pain, this
is everybody’s pain. If you keep silent it means that you are joining
the evil, if you keep silent then you do not see what is happening
around you to people, monuments, history, memory, and humanity in
general.

We want to tell the whole world once again that this is not the best
way to remind you. But we, a group of people, wanted to remind you in
this way [as heard]. This cannot be allowed to continue. I am sure
that humanity did not understand what had happened.

[Presenter] Gayane, I would like to ask Ms Kharatyan what does she
think about the mourning ceremony which will take place in Baku
tomorrow [20 January]? Can these two mourning ceremonies be accepted
as equal by the international community?

[Granush Kharatyan] Unfortunately, I think that the forthcoming event
in Azerbaijan is an organized campaign by the government. I regret
that the Armenian and Azerbaijani youth could not and cannot tell the
truth about the reality. I talked to many young people here
today. They did not say that they hate Azeris. They say that they do
not want what happened in the 20th century to be repeated in the 21st
century. Today’s motto is into the 21st century without genocide. They
did not come here today to say that unfortunately, the Azeris ended
the 20th century with genocide. It is very painful that the Armenian
people started and finished their 20th century really with
genocide. We want the world and people not to see what the Armenian
people saw in the 20th century.

[Correspondent] Thank you very much.

Tajik Avesta commentary praises Tajik-Russian accords, lists events of
the year

Avesta web site, Dushanbe
10 Jan 05

Text of report By Zafar Abdullayev entitled “The leap year has got the
harvest”, posted on Tajik Avesta web site on 10 January; subheading
inserted editorially

According to ancient beliefs, a leap year contains many difficulties
and problems, and the outgoing year 2004 was no exception. At the same
time, despite it not being “propitious” these 12 months were
relatively productive for Tajikistan, at least in terms of foreign
policy.

The country’s main achievements in the past year were a Tajik-Russian
comprehensive agreement on the basis of which Russia wrote off
Tajikistan’s 300m-dollar debt, and an agreement to transfer control of
the Tajik-Afghan border to the Tajik military.

Moreover, the UES [Unified Energy System] of Russia and Rusal
expressed the willingness to invest up to 2bn dollars in our national
economy. In exchange, Russia received the Norak space complex and
permission to set up a military base in Tajikistan.

At the beginning of June, after a meeting of the two countries’
presidents in Sochi, it seemed that the Tajik side had lost out. But
after the autumn summit, it became obvious that Tajikistan benefited
virtually from everything, even from its concessions. In addition to a
promise of investment incredible by Tajikistan’s standards and its
debt being written off, the country will also receive a military base
on its territory, which is a factor of military and political
stability. It is no secret that after the anti-terror operation in
Afghanistan, many countries of Central Asia wanted NATO military bases
on their territory as a source of stability and finance. But not
everyone was offered this role, and Russia served as an effective
substitute here.

On the other hand, in my opinion there is a clearly weak link in the
Tajik-Russian agreements. It is the Tajik-Afghan border. The
withdrawal of Russian border guards from there will hardly strengthen
its protection, but obviously Tajik citizens, especially those living
in the Pamirs, a region with chronic unemployment, will suffer direct
financial losses, not to mention security issues.

The authorities are counting on assistance from the West in the
formation of their own frontier troops, which is possible only with
full independent control of the border, but time will show the
effectiveness of this step.

Anti-corruption drive

Equally significant events of the year were the opening of criminal
cases against former field commanders who held high state and military
positions in the recent past. Yoqub Salimov’s case is different, but
accusations against the ex-commander of the presidential guard,
G. [Ghaffor] Mirzoyev, and the former head of Tojikgaz,
M. [Mahmadruzi] Iskandarov, are similar in some respect and have
common motives behind them. Having big powers with force (armed
supporters) and money, both leaders could not refrain from competing
with the head of state. And only if they tried to do that strictly in
the political arenaý [ellipsis as published]

The authorities have once again proven to them and all other such
“contenders” that the times of militants and threats of force have
passed. At the same time it can be forecast with a high probability
that ordinary people will pay fairly cold attention to this process as
they understand that none of the “commanders” ever thought about
them. They thought only about their detached houses and bank accounts.

However a lot of people ask questions about the honesty of the started
campaign to fight corruption and crime in the echelons of power. Will
thesecases be followed by others as the number of candidates “for
dispossession of kulaks” is more than a hundred? Will the fight
against corruption turn into a fight against dissidents? One would
like to believe that no, it will not. And this is only the start of “a
big purge”.

This is especially important from the point of view of “velvet”
revolutions in some CIS countries, specifically Georgia and Ukraine,
the last significant events of the year. The stunning success of
“rose” and “orange” transfer of power from the ruling forces to the
opposition makes the governments of our country’s neighbours think
about their fate, especially as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have already
been named as potential candidates. To all appearances, this is
because of the upcoming presidential elections there. Presidential
elections will also be held in Tajikistan soon, that is next year,
which does not rule out the possibility of a repetition of that
scenario in our country. It is possible to prevent social and
political cataclysms only through creating an open democratic society,
holding free and transparent elections and purging the state apparatus
of bribe-takers and corrupt officials.

Portland Press Herald, ME
Jan 19 2005

The ‘g’ word loses its meaning when no real action follows it

by Nikki Kallio

It was almost shocking when top government leaders dared to utter the
“g” word – “genocide” – when referring to the violence in Sudan’s
Darfur region, because by all accounts that meant the United States
would have to do something to stop it.

As a signatory to the United Nations’ 1948 Genocide Convention, we’re
now bound to “undertake to prevent and to punish” the crime.

At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

The law started with Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who studied the
Turkish destruction of Christian Armenians during World War I and
escaped Poland a week after the Nazis invaded.

In her Pulitzer prize-winning book, “A Problem from Hell,” Samantha
Power describes Lemkin’s efforts to set up an international law that
was meant to forever eliminate such atrocities.

He’d seen in Hitler’s writings what the madman had in mind and tried
to warn his family and friends, who didn’t believe such a heinous
plan could be executed. His parents were among those to perish.

First, these crimes against humanity needed a name. Lemkin, an
attorney and a trained linguist, knew what had happened was worse
than mass murder, it was worse than an atrocity and it was worse than
a crime against humanity. It needed a name that would transcend all
others and compel the world to prevent it from ever happening again,
Power wrote.

Lemkin’s new word, “genocide,” finally gained the acceptance of
Webster’s Dictionary in 1944. The next step then was to establish an
international law that would force the world to act to prevent it.

If there were no such law, Lemkin knew genocide would continue to be
regarded as an “internal” problem and that the world would continue
to hesitate to intervene, Power wrote.

Lemkin’s vision of future genocide compelled him to take on the
personal responsibility of preventing the slaughter of millions of
people, and it consumed his life.

The new international law was all he talked about, and he would talk
about it with anyone who would listen and many who didn’t, Power
wrote. Day and night, he hammered at leaders and journalists, and,
after an exhaustive campaign, the United Nations finally adopted the
Genocide Convention in 1948. The United States, however, didn’t
ratify it until 1988.

The Convention defines genocide as actions “committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious
group.”

It compels signatories to act when genocide is occurring.

For that reason, past leaders have been excruciatingly reluctant to
speak the word, avoiding it like poison, believing that its utterance
would behold them to action.

The painful footage of State Department officials discussing in 1994
why what had occurred in Rwanda wasn’t “genocide” – despite the
slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans in 100 days – demonstrated how much
weight leaders thought the word carried.

That’s why pundits and editorialists – including me – called on
leaders to use the word in discussing the crisis in Sudan. At least
70,000 black Africans have been killed since last year and close to 2
million more have been displaced from their homes by the
government-backed Arab Janjaweed militiamen in an apparent attempt to
gain control of the resource-rich Darfur region.

Surprisingly, Congress, Secretary of State Colin Powell and President
Bush responded. They’ve all taken the extraordinary step of using the
powerful word. Much to Darfur’s dismay, little has happened.

Only weak resolutions that allude to economic sanctions have been
passed (barely), and they’ve been given little teeth, even after
Darfur’s situation had been officially called “genocide.”

Scott Straus, an assistant professor of political science at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote in the January/February issue
of Foreign Affairs that “Darfur has shown that the energy spent
fighting over whether to call the events there ‘genocide’ was
misplaced, overshadowing difficult but more important questions about
how to craft an effective response to mass violence against civilians
in Sudan.”

Apparently, he’s right.

So, has the word lost its power?

Should we start over? Rewrite the law? Talk about it some more? Wait
and see?

It took the United States 40 years to ratify the Genocide Convention
in the first place, and now we find out that it has about as much
strength as a paper towel.

“Never again,” indeed.

Nikki Kallio is an editorial writer at the Portland Press
Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She can be contacted at 791-6481 or at:

PACKAGE AND STAGE BY STAGE SETTLEMENT

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
18 Jan 05

In Azerbaijan the year 2005 was declared the year of Karabakh, and
official Baku again stated through their president Ilham Aliev that if
necessary they will settle the Karabakh problem through military
force. In Azerbaijan it was also announced that Armenia allegedly
agreed to the stage by stage settlement of the conflict. Besides,
statements were made according to which during the January 11, 2005
meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijanin Prague
Armenia would at last accept the stage by stage settlement of the
conflict.

Naturally, NKR reacted to these statements. However, it is necessary
to remain coolheaded and not to behave emotionally. The statements of
Ilham Aliev, as well as of other official and analytical circles in
Azerbaijan on the settlement of the conflict according to the
Azerbaijani scenario are directed at the home `consumer’ only.

A vivid illustration to this is the fact that even if Armenia agrees
to the stage by stage settlement, Baku will do everything to keep this
in secret before the official publication of the fact. Whereas Baku
announces this openly being sure that after that the Armenian
diplomacy will not take such a step avoiding the fury of people.
Thus, the standpoint of Baku pursues only home political aims, let
alone that NKR and not Armenia will make the choice.

Now, let us try to discuss the so-called package and stage by stage
settlements. Karabakh is for the package settlement. This settlement
supposes achievement of an agreement in all the questions within the
framework of one agreement including the status of Nagorni Karabakh,
territories, borders, refugees, military, economic and ecological
security problems, maintenance of confidence, economic cooperation,
etc.

Azerbaijan stresses the stage by stage settlement. Baku demands
returning the territories liberated by Karabakh and now forming the
security area of NKR, as well as return refugees to these territories.
And only then will Azerbaijan consider the question of status.For
already 10 years now the negotiation process has been turning around
the mechanism of settlement of the conflict parties because of
fundamental controversies.

Strange though it may sound, there are no fundamental differences
between two settlements. The settlement of the Karabakh conflict can
be achieved through a complex approach, which means that the solution
can be achieved on the basis of a package, whereas it can be fulfilled
only stage by stage. Hereby the sides reach a comprehensive settlement
during the talks where all the problems are solved, including the
status, territories, refugees, security, etc. And fulfillment goes on
stage by stage, on the basis of compromise. Similar confrontations can
be solved only in this way (except for capitulation when the defeated
side surrenders to the winner).

The same mechanism was implemented in the case of the agreement of
Dayton on Herzegovina, the project of the secretary general of the UN
on Cyprus. All the problems were considered in these projects and
their implementation was carried out according to the schedule worked
out beforehand. Whereas Baku, emphasizing the returning of territories
and refugees (what is more, Baku speaks only about the Azerbaijani
refugees `forgetting’ that as a ratio to the Armenian refugees forced
out of the territories controlled by Azerbaijan NKR exceeds Azerbaijan
significantly).

In fact, Baku’s standpoint is an attempt to eliminate the negative
impact of the conflict for Azerbaijan without eliminating the reasons
that caused this impact. Naturally, this is not possible, especially
if we take into account that this kind of approach changes the
military and political situation in the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict
area and creates a lure for Azerbaijan to settle the conflict through
military force. Even in the present situation when Azerbaijan is
unable to solve the Karabakh conflict through force, it does not
disguise its anti-Armenian policy. In this context I would like to
quote Ilham Aliev’s speech at the April 2004 meeting of the editorial
board of the National Encyclopedia. `In my study I have the volumes of
the `Soviet Encyclopedia of Azerbaijan’. I studied them and found out
that the names of a number of scientists, politicians of our republic
are not present in them. Instead there are names of many Armenians. I
am surprised how the names Harutiunov, Harutiunian, Gevorgian,
Martiros Sarian, David of Sasun – appeared in those books. What
does this mean? Is it the basis for preparation of our National
Encyclopedia? I am terrified – Azerbaijanis were left out of our
encyclopedia and Armenians were not?’ And the advisor to the former
president of Azerbaijan Heidar Aliev on foreign policy Vafa Guluzadeh
said, `I used to say that any form of sovereignty granted to Nagorni
Karabakh will mean independence. In my addresses I always argued that
Nagorni Karabakh could not be granted sovereignty in Azerbaijan. That
is to say, it is not right to settle the problem of Karabakh through
granting a status to the Armenians. I want all of us to remember that
granting citizenship of Azerbaijan to Armenians is a crime. You know
that all our enterprises were full of Armenians. Today there are no
more. But as soon as they receive the right for citizenship and
status, they will not stay in Nagorni Karabakh. They will come to
Baku, gain rights, shares, and if we violate their rights, they will
protest. Arzu Abdulaeva protects the rights of Armenians in
Azerbaijan. If we cannot make a woman silent now, what will be our
state then?’ And if the statesmen considered pro-westerns and
democrats in this country speak this way, what then can be expected
from nationalist forces?

The discriminatory policy of the Azerbaijani government is not
confined to anti-Armenian propaganda only. It is applied to other
nationalities as well. Thus, the permanent representative of
Azerbaijan in the UN, Geneva I. Vahabzadeh explains the numerous
problems of official Baku by the fact that national diplomacy in
Azerbaijan is not carried out by pure-blooded Azerbaijanis. In his
official message to the speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament Murtuz
Aleskerov in 2001 Vahabzadeh wrote that among Azerbaijani diplomats
there are many who are not pure Azerbaijanis. According to him, it is
impermissible that those diplomats whose mothers are Armenian, or
Jewish (let alone small peoples) cannot serve Azerbaijan duly.

It is natural that the international community cannot overlook these
actualities and assist to a state that is loyal to the democratic
principles in its words only and therefore is an unreliable and
unforeseeable partner. In Azerbaijan there are people who recognize
this. Famous Azerbaijani political scientist Hikmet Hajizadeh thinks
that even if Azerbaijan is three times stronger than Armenia, the
world will not allow a government suppressing its citizens’ right to
rule the Armenian national minority (as in the case when the world did
not allow Serbia to maintain dictatorial rule over Bosnia and
Kosovo). Thus, it becomes evident that no official settlement can be
the reason for the non-constructive standpoint of Baku. The reason is
much more profound. It is in the consciousness of the Azerbaijani
people, the deep controversies existing in that country.

DAVIT BABAYAN.
18-01-2005