Azeri writers protest to Russian Duma over Armenian claims to exclave

Sarq, Baku
24 Mar 04

Text of Xalid Ilyaszada report by Azerbaijani newspaper Sarq on 24
March headlined “Armenian writers’ claims to Naxcivan are unfounded”,
subheaded “The Azerbaijani Union of Writers has sent an appeal to the
Russian State Duma”

The Armenian Union of Writers has recently demanded that parliament
recognize as invalid the 1921 Kars Treaty, which stipulates that the
Naxcivan Autonomous Republic is an integral part of Azerbaijan.

After this, some foreign media reported that the Armenian writers had
raised the issue with the Russian State Duma as well. The Armenians
also wanted Russia, a signatory to the Kars Treaty, to recognize it as
invalid.

The Azerbaijani Union of Writers has sharply reacted to this and sent
an appeal to the Russian State Duma. The appeal recalled separate
articles from the treaty. It noted that the treaty accepts Naxcivan as
an integral part of Azerbaijan. Under the treaty, the territory of the
autonomous republic cannot be given to any state. Russia, Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia signed the treaty, which casts light
on many issues.

The Armenian claims to Naxcivan run counter to any norms when
everything is absolutely clear. Such efforts should be described only
as Armenia’s interference in other states’ internal affairs. Armenia
should remember that it has undertaken certain commitments to the
treaty and any effort aimed at breaking them is inadmissible. The
Azerbaijani Union of Writers thinks that the position of the Armenian
Union of Writers, which violates legal norms, testifies to this
county’s expansionist policy. This policy caused Azerbaijan heavy
casualties, genocide and horrors over the decades, the appeal says.

The appeal sent to the Russian State Duma also stressed the current
difficult situation in Armenia.

“We understand that time is going against Armenia and the Armenians
want to divert the people’s attention from numerous problems. The
ideologists of Armenian separatism are kicking up a new racket of
provocation just for this reason and want to raise the Naxcivan
question. We state in full responsibility that there is no problem
giving rise to this question. Naxcivan has always been within
Azerbaijan, this is the case today and it will continue to be the
case. We tell the Armenians that such attempts will not prevent the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict from being resolved peacefully in line with
international legal norms,” the appeal said.

Minor reshuffle in Armenian government

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Mar 04

Staff changes have been made in the government.

By decision of Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan Amayak
Garoyan has been relieved of the post of head of the State Emergencies
Department.

The former chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of
Armenia, Artak Sagradyan, has been appointed deputy minister of
education and science.

The head of the cultural department of the Yerevan mayor’s office,
Arman Saakyan, has been appointed deputy mayor.

Gagik Martirosyan has been relieved of the post of head of the State
Committee for Water Resources and appointed the prime minister’s
councillor.

Andranik Andreasyan has been appointed head of the State Committee for
Water Resources. He has been relieved of his the post as deputy
minister for coordinating territorial administration and production
infrastructures.

Armenia calls for help in securing release of suspected mercenaries

Arminfo
23 Mar 04

YEREVAN

The accusations against Armenian pilots of plotting to overthrow the
government of Equatorial Guinea are rather contradictory and are in no
way related to their work, the press secretary of the Foreign
Ministry, Gamlet Gasparyan, has told a press conference.

He said that the Guinean authorities are trying to present the
Armenian pilots as mercenaries which they are not. They are
professional pilots with many years of experience. The authorities of
Equatorial Guinea claim that the Armenian citizens arrived in the
country by boat whereas they arrived in the Guanine capital Malabo on
their plane.

The charges against the Armenian pilots of gathering intelligence do
not hold up as without the knowledge of local traditions, language and
location they could not have been used in the espionage activities
during their two months of work in Malabo.

Gamlet Gasparyan noted that, through the mediation of the diplomatic
representative offices in Moscow and New York, they are working with
the authorities of New Guinea to clarify the situation and secure the
release of the pilots. The Armenian Foreign Ministry also appealed to
other friendly countries, in particular, to Russia and France, which
through their diplomatic missions in Malabo could help the detained
pilots. Diplomats of the French embassy have already visited the
Armenian prisoners and noted that their state of health is
satisfactory.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan sent a letter to the Kongo
Foreign Ministry calling for its help in securing the release of the
Armenian pilots. The Armenian Foreign Ministry also appealed to the
International Red Cross Committee and the International Amnesty
Organization.

If need be, the Armenian Foreign Ministry is prepared to send its
diplomats to Equatorial Guinea so as to resolve the issue on the spot.

Armenian president says civil service best way to fight gangs

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
23 Mar 04

[Presenter] The law on the civil service is the best tool to fight
gangs, President Robert Kocharyan said today during a working meeting
which discussed the civil service system. According to the president’s
assessment, a civil service staff has already been formed in the
country and is performing a serious service. But the president’s
control service carried out studies of the civil service sphere for
two months and disclosed instances of abuse and breach of law.

Robert Kocharyan said that during the competitions for senior posts in
the civil service, the commissions were objective, but the
participants in the competition submitted false documents.

[Correspondent over video of session] The session chaired by the
president today discussed issues regarding the civil service system.

[Robert Kocharyan, captioned] Great work has been done in this
sphere. We have formed a serious system which is carrying out public
service and which is accepted today in all the world. We did not have
this system in our country for many years.

[Correspondent] The president’s control service studied more than 500
competitions for posts in 13 state bodies. Robert Kocharyan said that
these checks disclosed instances of abuse and breach of law.

[Robert Kocharyan] I think that this law is the best tool to fight
gangs and we shall not allow anybody to break the law. These instances
are sufficient and we have to discuss them seriously and not to allow
such instances to be repeated. We have already included changes to the
law. We have to discuss and complete this system, so that it can be
formed correctly as we planned.

[Correspondent] The chairman of the Council of the State Service,
Manvel Badalyan, presented the study results and announced that 1,022
competitions for posts had already been organized and 2,000 civil
service employees have already been certified, of whom 125 were
dismissed.

The ministers and heads of department made their observations and
suggestions for improvement of the system.

Lilit Setrakyan, “Aylur”.

Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: 617-923-1918
Fax: 617-926-5525
[email protected]

PRESS RELEASE
March 24, 2004

Contact: Arin Gregorian
617-923-1918; [email protected]

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

— In a Joint Order, State Senators and Representatives Join Armenian
American Community of Maine in Marking 89th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide

AUGUSTA, ME–On Tuesday, March 23, the Maine State Legislature passed a
joint order recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) Eastern Region.

“The Maine Armenian American community thanks the Legislature for
commemorating this great crime against humanity,” stated ANC activist Kathy
Durgerian. “Over the course of the past couple of years, our great state has
been a leading example in honoring the victims and survivors of the Armenian
Genocide. We owe a great deal of gratitude to our elected officials on a
local, state, and federal level,” concluded Durgerian.

The order, cosponsored by Portland’s entire legislative delegation, reads
“Expressions of Legislative Sentiment recognizing: the 89th Anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. On April 24, 1915, a campaign was launched by the
Turkish regime of the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people, resulting
in the death of more than 1.5 million Armenians. Some of the survivors
settled in the State of Maine and their heirs have made significant
contributions to the State. We join our citizens of Armenian heritage on
April 24th in remembering this event, and we express our deepest sympathy
for the families of those who perished.”

In 2000, Maine’s Senate and House of Representatives concurrently adopted an
Official Expression of Sentiment recognizing “the 85th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide” noting that “on April 24, 1915, a campaign was launched
against the Armenian people that resulted in the death of over 1.5 million
Armenians.”

In addition, in June 2001, the Legislature passed a joint resolution
“Honoring Armenian Americans and Commemorating the Armenian Genocide of 1915
to 1923.”

On the federal level, Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME)
as well as US Representative Thomas Allen (D-ME 1) are currently cosponsors
of the Senate and House Genocide Resolutions, which commemorate the 15th
anniversary of the US implementation of the UN Genocide Convention.
H.Res.193 and S.Res.164 cite the importance of remembering past crimes
against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and
Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities.

####

Press Herald

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Legislative Dispatches

Lawmakers mark anniversary of Armenian genocide

AUGUSTA – The Legislature passed a joint order Tuesday recognizing the 89th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

According to the order, the Turkish regime of the Ottoman Empire launched a
campaign against the Armenian people on April 24, 1915, that resulted in the
deaths of more than 1.5 million Armenians.

“Some of the survivors settled in the state of Maine and their heirs have
made significant contributions to the state,” the order stated. “We join our
citizens of Armenian heritage on April 24th in remembering this event, and
we express our deepest sympathy for the families of those who perished.”

The order was sponsored by Sen. Michael Brennan, D-Portland, and
co-sponsored by the rest of Portland’s legislative delegation. “I felt it
was important for the Legislature to mark the anniversary of this tragedy
and honor those who suffered,” Brennan said.

Moscow Times

Wednesday, Mar. 24, 2004. Page 4

Chechens’ Shifting Allegiances Blur Lines of Battle

By Oliver Bullough
Reuters

Adlan Khasanov / Reuters

Aslan Maskhadov gesturing at a 1999 rally in Grozny. Akhmad Kadyrov, second
from left, later switched sides to support Moscow – Photo

GROZNY — For Moscow, it is simple: Chechen rebels are terrorists and must
be destroyed.

But on the ground in Chechnya, government supporters and rebels are
sometimes hard to tell apart.

Rebels who change sides are absorbed into the pro-Russian government’s ranks
without question. Many do not demand independence, while the government is
increasingly assertive toward Moscow.

Moscow’s bearded foot soldiers in the region, with their mismatched
uniforms, Kalashnikovs and habit of firing volleys of gunfire as wedding
parties drive past not only look like the people who defeated Russia in 1996
— they are the same people.

In Argun, just east of the regional capital, Grozny, one 25-year-old member
of the security service said most of his comrades were rebels who had
changed sides.

“We nearly all were,” he said, as he leaned against a wall and chain-smoked.
“I only changed sides three months ago; before that I was up in the hills,
dodging the federals.”

Higher-rank personnel are crossing over as well.

Top rebel Magomed Khambiyev surrendered this month, faces no criminal
charges and has asked to join Moscow’s side. Officials in Chechnya say they
would welcome him.

Pro-Moscow Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov’s son Ramzan — the region’s
second-most powerful man as head of the security service — said he wanted
rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov to come and join the government as well.

“He is a good military man, let him train our soldiers,” said the burly
27-year-old in his home village of Tsenteroi in the foothills of the
Caucasus Mountains.

President Vladimir Putin vows to destroy the “terrorist” Maskhadov, and
refuses to negotiate with him. His peace plan centered around a referendum
last year to anchor Chechnya in Russia and internationally criticized
elections, which were won by Akhmad Kadyrov.

Maskhadov spearheaded the drive that forced Moscow first to the negotiating
table and then to grant Chechnya de facto independence in 1997, but Ramzan
Kadyrov spoke highly of the former Soviet colonel.

“Maskhadov is an educated man. … We need such people and it’s right to
make use of them. He should not be president, but he should be military
commander,” he told reporters.

Politically, the two sides are closer than Putin says. Rebels who ran
Chechnya until Putin sent troops back in 1999 now speak vaguely of
compromise — some form of autonomy within Russia, perhaps, with current
guerrillas invited to participate.

Kadyrov, on the other hand, is making increasingly tough demands of Moscow.

Last month, he demanded Russia pay transit fees for the gas that crosses
Chechen territory on its way to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian
newspapers reported.

He wants control of the military campaign, and his long-term demand that all
revenues from Chechen oil should revert to Grozny is a major stumbling block
in Moscow’s attempts to define Chechnya’s status.

Hard-line rebels, who have staged a string of suicide bombings in the
Caucasus and Moscow, refuse to consider any compromise with Russia. But
moderates take a line more conciliatory than Kadyrov’s.

“No one is talking about independence any more,” rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev
said in a recent interview in London, where he is in exile.

Kadyrov says only former rebels have insight into rebel plans required to
catch their former comrades-in-arms. But Zakayev says the presence of former
separatists in Kadyrov’s ranks has undermined Moscow’s rule.

“Money for our armed forces comes from Russia, it comes via Kadyrov’s
administration. There is not one minister, manager or village head who does
not give us money,” he said.

“While the Kadyrov administration continues, we will never have trouble with
our finances.”

Newsday, NY
March 24 2004

FILM FESTIVAL: Political dynamite from new directors

BY JOHN ANDERSON
STAFF WRITER

The New York film fan’s equivalent of spring training and the Final
Four, New Directors/New Films begins its 33rd year tonight with as
much international flavor and political volatility as it’s probably
ever shown.

Presented jointly by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Film
Department of the Museum of Modern Art, the annual showcase for
filmmakers and movies fresh to the area kicks off tonight with the
multiculti, multicharacter “Everyday People” – a touching populist
portrait of a transitioning Brooklyn neighborhood by returning
director Jim McKay (“Our Song”). Between now and April 4, the series
will screen 28 films from 23 countries (including Armenia, Mongolia,
Israel and Peru) and probably set off more than a couple of
firestorms, with work topical enough to qualify as news bulletins.

Most notably among these is “Control Room,” (USA-Egypt, 2004), in
which young Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim explores the
inner workings of the Arab news agency Al-Jazeera during the onset of
the current Iraq War. As implied by the title, however, “Control
Room” is not just about the Arab perspective but the U.S. military’s
carefully crafted dissemination of combat information, the media’s
willingness to swallow it and the general dilemma of news during
wartime.

Elsewhere, “Checkpoint” by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir was filmed
over two years at the dozens of border crossings along the occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip and documents the frustrating, humiliating
and destructive daily encounters between Israeli soldiers and
Palestinian travelers. Insightful, unflattering and often
infuriating, “Checkpoint” offers yet another angle on the Byzantine
relationship between the Israeli and Arab worlds.

On the lighter side is the ravishing “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
… and Spring,” which will do nothing to diminish the growing
stature of Korean filmmaking throughout the world. Directed by Kim
Ki-duk, “Spring … ” is set on a secluded lake and floating
monastery, where a monk and a young boy traverse the seasons of life.
Beautifully shot (and metaphorically shameless), the film has been
getting raves at festivals worldwide.

Its stylistic counterpoint might be “Le Monde Vivant,” a fairy tale
in blue jeans in which French theater director Eugene Green
re-imagines a world of medieval chivalry and adventure with
modern-looking people and a lion played by a golden retriever.
Alternately whimsical and enchanting, “Le Monde Vivant” is joyful,
and more than a little thought-provoking.

“I’m very pleased with ND/NF this year,” said Richard Pena, who, with
Joanna Ney and Marian Masone, composes the selection committee’s Film
Society component (MoMA members are Laurence Kardish, Jytte Jensen
and Mary Lea Bandy). “It’s a nice, broad selection, internationally
and stylistically.”

And politically. And intellectually. And, perhaps, in the case of
“Spring, Summer … ” even poetically.

WHEN&WHERE

New Directors/New Films, today through April 4. For complete list of
films and descriptions, go to
Screenings will be held at three venues: Alice Tully Hall, the Walter
Reade Theater at Lincoln Center and the MOMA Gramercy, 23rd Street
near Lexington Avenue, Manhattan. Call 212-875-5050.

Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
March 24 2004

Armenians plead school case in Parliament
By George Psyllides

THE Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) yesterday failed to
convince the House Education Committee on why it wanted to shut down
the Melkonian Educational Institute (MEI), though deputies admitted
there was little parliament could do to reverse the decision.

The AGBU decided to close down the school, saying it no longer
fulfilled the duties it had been set up to carry out.

But the Armenian community is furious at the decision, and has
claimed financial interests are dictating the fate of the historical
school.

The representative of the Armenian community in Parliament, deputy
Bedros Kalaidjian, appealed to the government for help, otherwise the
Armenian community would be left without any secondary education.

`We cannot imagine an Armenian community without the Melkonian,’
Kalaidjian told the committee.

`It is a national treasure,’ he added.

In a statement read by lawyer Freda Georgiou, AGBU said the vision of
the benefactors – the Melkonian brothers – could be better achieved
through new programmes that would be more beneficial to a much larger
spectrum of the diaspora and those of Armenia itself.

`AGBU regrets the painful decision to close the Melkonian Boarding
School but taking into consideration the long term goals of the
benefiting Armenians globally, this decision must be adhered to, as
will be future decisions concerning schools in other host countries,’
the statement said.

The AGBU stressed that the MEI matter was not a political one, but
concerned an internal decision of a philanthropic organisation, which
is managing its assets in the wisest possible manner with a view to
serving the best interests of the Armenians.
But a member of the school board charged that the AGBU wanted to
close down the school and set up summer camps in other countries
where they would try to teach the Armenian language and culture in
two or three months.

The alumni association disputed the AGBU’s jurisdiction on the
school, adding that the Union’s arguments were not convincing.

On November 14, 2003, the AGBU had said they were not shutting down
the school, yet just three months later this was exactly what they
were doing, the association said.
The alumni urged the government to intervene, declare the school of
national importance, and minimise the building coefficient to deter
developers.

Some say the land on which the school is built is worth £40 million.

AGBU representative Dr Gordon Anderson said a very small number of
Armenians went to the school to justify its operation.

He said the AGBU was looking into three alternatives: setting up a
day school, entering a partnership with an existing institution, or
creating an Armenian department in one of the existing schools.

DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou asked whether the school’s trust fund was
deposited in Cyprus, only to be told that the AGBU had nothing
deposited or registered in Cyprus.
However, the school receives government subsidies and only
Cyprus-registered philanthropic organisations are entitled to such
funding.

The alternative for the Cyprus government is to declare the school a
historical site and its surroundings a protected environment thus
putting an end to any plans for its development.

But one deputy told the Cyprus Mail that this would be a hostile act
and should only be used as a last resort.

Anderson stressed that there were no plans to demolish or sell the
buildings, but when asked by DISY deputy Nicos Tornaritis whether
AGBU would agree to listing the buildings, he said the AGBU objected.

`I think AGBU likes to have flexibility on the use of the buildings,’
Anderson said.
He said the AGBU also strongly objected the area being designated as
a forest.
`If we are going to assist Armenians we need to maximise assets,’ he
said.

The proceeds of a commercial centre operating next to the school all
go straight to the Armenian community, he added.

He repeated that pupil numbers were declining – averaging just 5.7
pupils per year from the island’s Armenian community in the last few
years, with the others coming from abroad.

The AGBU plans to shut the school down in June 2005.

International Committee of the Red Cross News
March 24 2004

Southern Caucasus: Towards TB-free prisons
Every year, two million people die of tuberculosis (TB), and another
eight million contract the disease.

In most countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, it has
proven difficult to bring the disease under control because of the
social and economic situation and the breakdown of the health-care
system. In the southern Caucasus, where TB causes enormous suffering
and death in the prisons, the ICRC has been working with the national
authorities for many years to provide treatment for prisoners. In
1995, when the ICRC launched a TB-control programme in the prisons of
Azerbaijan, the disease was at least 60 times more prevalent among
inmates than among the country’s civilian population. In 1998, the
ICRC began providing support for implementation in Georgian prisons
of the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) strategy
recommended by the World Health Organization. In 2002, the ICRC
extended its support for this programme to Armenia.

If prisoners have TB when they are released, they bring the disease
with them back into society. Since TB is a national public-health
issue that also affects the population outside prisons, the ICRC is
coordinating its activities in prisons with others working on behalf
of the population at large, including the donor community, to
reinforce joint efforts to fight the disease. Since 1995, the ICRC
has provided support for the treatment of more than 8,000 prisoners
in the southern Caucasus. One of the problems it has encountered is
that prisoners are sometimes released before they have completed
treatment, without proper coordination between the authorities
responsible for health care inside prisons and those responsible for
national TB programmes.

Major challenges still lie ahead. Outbreaks of multidrug-resistant TB
in prisons could cause these dangerous strains to spread into the
community through the families of prisoners, released prisoners, and
prison staff. In addition, as the number of AIDS cases rises
throughout the former Soviet Union, opportunistic TB infections will
increasingly destroy families and whole communities. In response, the
resources of the entire public-health system must be brought to bear
on this already devastating epidemic. Urgent action must be taken, in
particular to treat drug-resistant patients and reduce the
progression of HIV.