Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
March 17, 2004, Wednesday

RUSSIA WON’T YIELD ITS POSITION IN THE CIS TO ANYONE

SOURCE: Vremya Novostei, March 17, 2004, p. 5

by Katerina Labetskaya

The United States, NATO, and the EU are expanding their activities in
the CIS, which is more often called post-Soviet territory. Is this
contrary to Russia’s interests? We discussed this issue with Senior
Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov, presidential envoy to
the CIS with the status of federal minister.

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: The CIS is the natural and traditional area of
Russia’s interests. Russia itself is an area of interest for its CIS
partners. The course aimed at development of neighborly relations
with the CIS is the priority in our foreign policy. However, under
conditions of the quickly developing globalization process no state
or a regional union can stay isolated. We have no intention to
indicate to our CIS partners how and with what states they should
build their relations. However, we are based on the fact that our
partners, for instance in the CIS Common Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO), won’t break the allied commitments (the CSTO was founded on
September 18, 2003. It consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. – ed. note).

Question: Aren’t you concerned about NATO penetration into the CIS?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: Together with our CIS partners, we are ready to
deepen our cooperation with NATO, primarily in adjusting its
cooperation with the CSTO. This is an urgent issue, especially since
NATO is involved in Afghanistan operations. The combination of
abilities of these two military-political alliances will profit to
both its members and the entire world community. Resistance would
mean reviving the Cold War. We are not seeking that and expect NATO
to act likewise. However, we don’t welcome expansion of the Alliance
and its proximity to Russia’s borders, for one reason: NATO ought to
be transformed from a military bloc into a political organization.
Contradictory processes are now developing inside NATO: it still has
forces which think in the categories of the Cold War.

We have a policy of constructive relations with the United States and
NATO. At times, our partners deviate from this line, saying that
ratification of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty
is impossible unless Russian military bases are withdrawn from
Georgia. We assess any attempts of reproaching us with “a failure to
execute Istanbul commitments” as strained plea for protraction of
ratifying the agreement on adaptation of the CFE Treaty. Russia has
fully fulfilled all commitments on withdrawal of arms and military
equipment, which are restricted by the treaty, from Georgia and
Moldova ahead of time. We have made a considerable advancement in the
settlement of problems which have nothing to do with the CFE Treaty –
liquidation of Russian military bases in Georgia and withdrawal of
military property from Transnistria. There are no juridical obstacles
hampering the process of ratifying the agreement on adaptation of the
CFE Treaty. We urge our partners to join it without artificial
delays.

Question: Does it mean that our bases in Georgia are a subject for
discussion between Moscow and Tbilisi alone?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: We need to determine the timeframe and the
format of our presence there. So far, we don’t nee a third party in
this issue. We assume that the constructive approach announced by the
new Georgian leaders will help us resume the bilateral negotiation
process. We haven’t met to discuss the problem of withdrawal of our
bases for a long.

Question: Will withdrawal of our bases from Georgia actually take 11
years?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: We started dancing from this in the talks.
However, as our economic and financial positions strengthen we may
reduce this timing at the expense of our efforts. Our military men
are to determine the limit.

Question: NATO hopes to enhance cooperation with Russia in
Afghanistan. Will Russia return there after a 15-year break?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: We don’t have any such plans. Assistance is
possible in critical situations, but not a military presence.

Question: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is described as
another conflict of interests between the West and Russia.

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: We don’t have a clash here. The organization’s
targets are aimed at stability in the region and security of its six
member states (Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. – ed. note). There are broad prospects for the SCO’s
cooperation with the US in combating terrorism and drug-trafficking.
The SCO has no intention to fence itself off from NATO. We hope this
vision of the SCO’s essence will prevail around the world and end the
false rumors.

Question: Does the West’s heightened attention towards conflicts
inside the CIS evidence its contradictions with Russia?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: Conflicts occur worldwide. Settlement of
conflicts inside the CIS cannot imply any improper cooperation with
the US or the EU. Russia has never declined the widest international
cooperation, assigning the peacekeeping forces stationed in zones of
conflicts inside the CIS the international and regional status, with
involvement of the CIS, the UN, the OSCE. However, attempts of
settlement through “constraining to peace” make a serious delusion.
They are forcing the conflicts inside. We object to the thoughtless,
hasty breaking of the formats of settlement which have been formed.

Question: Do you agree with political consultants who propose that
Russia, as a regional power, should re-orient itself exclusively
towards the post-Soviet area?

Vyacheslav Trubnikov: I disagree. Due to its historical and
geopolitical significance Russia cannot be confined within the
regional framework, although it is as vast as the CIS. I’m certain
our country will take a proper position by becoming a pole in the
multi-polar world order. We already have formal signs for that:
affiliation with the nuclear club, permanent membership in the UN
Security Council. Undoubtedly, Russia’s economic mightiness will
determine its role of a great power. Slowly but surely we are
increasing our economic potential. This is the Euro-Asian Economic
Community within the framework of the CIS, the common economic area.
Russia has been the driving force for integration processes across
post-Soviet territory, which is a very difficult and responsible
occupation. Those who are afraid of this burden like the thesis that
our CIS partners demand much from Russia, but give little in return –
therefore, we must supposedly part company. If we did that, our niche
would be filled immediately – this is reality. It would be a rash
move.

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say. Part B (Russia)
March 17, 2004, Wednesday

“ANTI-NATO” EXPANSION

SOURCE: Vremya Novostei, March 17, 2004, p. 2

by Nikolai Poroskov

Anatoly Kvashnin, chairman of the CIS committee of chiefs of general
staff, announced that the Commonwealth Southern Shield 2004 staff
command exercises, scheduled for April, will not take place then.
This doesn’t mean the exercises have been canceled due to funding
shortages, as often occurred in the 1990s, or armies of CIS countries
have bogged down in disputes and cannot coordinate the plan and aims
of the exercises. The situation is quite the reverse. According to
Anatoly Kvashnin’s statement at the first assembly of the Joint Staff
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO, which unites
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan),
Boundary 2004 – a tactical exercise – will be held in second half of
2004 instead of the staff command exercise scheduled for April.
Besides forces of the CIS and the CSTO (meant are the units of the
Collective Rapid Deployment Forces and the Russian aviation stationed
at the Kant airfield in Kyrgyzstan), the exercise will involve units
and military observers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO). In other words, the list of participants will be extended at
the expense of Uzbek and Chinese military (the SCO includes Russia,
China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan).

Military experts say that attempts to expand and enhance the
Euro-Asian military-political alliance are evident. In fact, CSTO
Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha announced that over a month ago.
He admitted that some CIS states are involved in the talks on their
potential joining the CSTO. Quite possibly, we may soon evidence
expansion of an “anti-NATO.”

The speed with which the military component of the CIS is gaining
strength allow for that assumption. The CSTO Joint Staff started
functioning on January 1, 2004, but has already managed to merit
praises from chief of the Russian General Staff. “My assessment is
positive. The Joint Staff started working actively; what’s important,
since its first moves are practical,” Anatoly Kvashnin said
yesterday. In his words, establishing close cooperation between the
Armed Forces of Russia, CIS states and the CSTO structures has been a
success. In particular, over past six months the strength of the
Collective Rapid Deployment Forces doubled; in addition to general
troops it is planned to form the Special Forces in its structure.

One of the main tasks of the meeting, which will finish tomorrow, is
to develop a system of operations control for the Rapid Deployment
Forces.

Also under discussion are plans of joint operational and combat
training, an algorithm of actions of the collective forces for
maintenance of peace in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, an opportunity of
unifying the legislation in the sphere of defense and security,
Lieutenant General Vasily Zavgorodny, senior deputy chief of the CSTO
Joint Staff.

Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 18, 2004 Thursday

Armenia parliament turns down smoking control bill

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The Armenian parliament has turned down a draft law restricting
smoking. The bill had suggested imposing of ban on sales of tobacco
products to underage persons, as well as smoking at all health,
culture, sports, educational facilities, at other public premises and
at transport.

The author of the bill, Chairwoman of the Permanent Parliamentary
Commission for issues of science and education, culture and youth
Granush Akopyan said the number of smokers is steadily growing in the
republic.

Armenian residents spend 25 million dollars a year for cigarettes and
other tobacco products. The after-effects of this addiction are
manifested in the growth of lung and cardio-vascular diseases and
malignant tumors. The spread of the smoking habit among adolescents
and young people, as well as women is especially disturbing.

Local observers are certain the bill has been voted down by
influential parliamentarians engaged in the import of tobacco or
lobbying the tobacco business.

Incidentally, Akopyan even made certain concessions to her colleagues
who own cafes and restaurants. She proposed to allow smoking in bars
at separate places, but even the softened variant of the bill was
rejected.

In the meantime, there are clouds of smoke at breaks between
parliamentary meetings, as the mps cannot make themselves give up
smoking.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 18, 2004 Thursday

Six Armenians arrested in Equatorial Guinea on state coup charges

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has undertaken steps to clarify
information about Armenian citizens who were arrested in Equatorial
Guinea and to render necessary legal assistance to them.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry official spokesman, Gamlet Gasparyan,
said in a statement that six Armenian nationals had been arrested in
Equatorial Guinea on March 8 on state coup charges. A group of
Armenian civil aviation pilots is working in Equatorial Guinea on
contracts with private companies, the Armenian Foreign Ministry went
on to say.

The Armenian ambassadors in New York and Moscow have met their
counterparts from Equatorial Guinea. Given that Armenia has no
diplomatic representations in Equatorial Africa, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry has turned for assistance to friendly countries, which have
certain influence in Equatorial Guinea, the Armenian Foreign Ministry
said in its statement.

Polish Press Agency
March 18, 2004 Thursday

Bagdasarian on cooperation with Lublin province

Lublin

Head of the Armenian National Assembly Artur Bagdasarian discussed
possibilities of cooperation between Armenia and Lublin province at a
meeting with Lublin city and provincial authorities on Thursday.

Bagdasarian would like to establish cooperation with Poland in
science, education and agriculture. Development of information
technologies is a priority in Armenia at present, he said and added
that his country would like to exchange experience in sugar beet
growing and processing. We are also interested in imports of
fertilisers, he said.

Bagdasarian invited Lublin authorities to visit Armenia, and proposed
to create a mission of Lublin in his country. A similar mission
promoting Armenian commodities and culture could be set up in Lublin
province.

Head of the Lublin provincial assembly Henryk Makarewicz assured the
guest about readiness to establish cooperation. There are considerable
opportunities for this and Armenia has priority in regional cooperation,
he said. Makarewicz expressed the hope that details of the accord
would be set soon.

ARKA News Agency
March 17-18 2004

RA President releases Aram Tamazian from the position of RA Chief
Prosecutor

Armenia expresses regret that OSCE did not condemn murder of Armenian
officer in Budapest

Acting OSCE Chairman condemns the murder of Armenian officer in
Budapest

RA MFA does not see alternative to peaceful settlement of Karabakh
conflict

RA President Robert Kocharian welcomes the idea `Expanded Europe: New
Neighbors’

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT RELEASES ARAM TAMAZIAN FROM THE POSITION OF RA CHIEF
PROSECUTOR

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian released
Aram Tamazian from the position of RA Chief Prosecutor, President’s
press service told ARKA.
The other president’s decree appointed on this position Aghvan
Ovsepian. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

ARMENIA EXPRESSES REGRET THAT OSCE DID NOT CONDEMN MURDER OF ARMENIAN
OFFICER IN BUDAPEST

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Armenia expresses regret that OSCE did not
condemn murder of Armenian officer in Budapest, RA Government PR
Department told ARKA. It was stated by RA Prime Minister of Armenia
Andranik Margarian during the meeting with Acting OSCE Chairman
Solomon Passi.
On February 19, at 5:30 a.m. Gourgen Margaryan, the Lieutenant of
Armenian Armed Forces, who was in Budapest on business, namely for
learning English in the framework of `Partnership for Peace’ program,
was cruelly massacred when sleeping with an axe by an Azerbaijani
officer, who was there on the same program.
According to Hungarian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
to Armenia Ferenz Contra told ARKA earlier that the murderer of
Armenian officer Ramil Safarov will not be surrendered to Azerbaijan.
Safarov committed crime on Hungarian land and will be kept in
Hungarian prison. L.D. –0–

*********************************************************************

ACTING OSCE CHAIRMAN CONDEMNS THE MURDER OF ARMENIAN OFFICER IN
BUDAPEST

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Acting Osce Chairman Solomon Passi
condemns the murder of Armenian officer in Budapest, he stated this
at the briefing in Yerevan. He also added that `didn’t heard in
Azerbaijan voices in support of the murderer’.
RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian expressed pity that Regular OSCE
Council did not condemn brutal murder of Armenian officer.
On February 19, at 5:30 a.m. Gourgen Margaryan, the Lieutenant of
Armenian Armed Forces, who was in Budapest on business, namely for
learning English in the framework of `Partnership for Peace’ program,
was cruelly massacred when sleeping with an axe by an Azerbaijani
officer, who was there on the same program. L.D. -0–

*********************************************************************

RA MFA DOES NOT SEE ALTERNATIVE TO PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH
CONFLICT

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian does
not see alternative to peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, he
stated this at the meeting with acting OSCE Chairman, Foreign
Minister of Bulgaria Solomon Passi, RA MFA told ARKA. Foreign
Ministers expressed solidarity in this issue and noted that time
works not in the favor of any parties.
During the meeting Oskanian represented Armenian actions on
attraction of countries of the region in the program `Expanded
Europe: New Neighbors’. He said that European context will be useful
for softening the atmosphere around regional conflicts and their
settlement. Passi in his turn agreed with given position and
expressed readiness to provide assistance in given issues.
The parties also discussed programs of OSCE Yerevan Office on
strengthening of democratic institutes, human right protection, fight
against corruption.
Acting OSCE Chairman, Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Solomon Passi
arrived in Armenia on March 16 in the frames of regional visit. L.D.
–0–

*********************************************************************

RA PRESIDENT ROBERT KOCHARIAN WELCOMES THE IDEA `EXPANDED EUROPE: NEW
NEIGHBORS’

YEREVAN, March 17. /ARKA/. RA President Robert Kocharian welcomes the
idea `Expanded Europe: New Neighbors’, President’s Press Office told
ARKA. Kocharian stated this during the meeting with EU delegation
headed with Co-Chairman of Interparliametary Cooperation EU-Armenia
Ursula Shleicher. Kocharian once again stressed the readiness of
Armenia in expanding and deepening of relations with EU. According to
him, Armenian cooperation with EU, particularly in the sphere of
economy is especially businesslike. `Expanded Europe: New Neighbors’
will become new stimuli for bringing all reforms in the country and
Armenian legislation in correspondence to international standards’,
Kocharian said. The President also represented his position
considering Karabakh conflict settlement and situation in South
Caucasus. Talking about economic priorities of Armenia, Kocharian
said that the Government set up a goal of provision of sustainable
economic development at the whole territory of the republic. L.D.
–0–

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03/18/2004
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1) Kocharian Asks for Resoluteness, Appoints New Prosecutor-General
2) Javakhk Armenians Concur with CE Secretary General, Request Meeting
3) Ajaria Blockade Ends, Stability Restored
4) Armenia At Last Formally Protests British Envoy’s Genocide Denial

1)  Kocharian Asks for Resoluteness, Appoints New Prosecutor-General

YEREVAN (Armenpress/RFE/RL)–President Robert Kocharian expressed on Thursday
his dissatisfaction with the performance of Armenia’s Office of Prosecutor as
he introduced the country’s newly appointed Prosecutor-General.
Kocharian said the role of the law-enforcement agency has diminished somewhat
under the previous Prosecutor-General Aram Tamazian who was relieved of his
post on Wednesday. “Compared to other law-enforcement bodies, the prosecutor’s
office has experienced a certain decline in terms of its place and
significance,” he was quoted by his press office as telling senior
prosecutors.
Calling on prosecutors to be more active and resolute in combating crime and
government corruption, he asked them to keep in mind the interests of the
nation, and spare no efforts to preserve investment activity in Armenia, that
has already produced solid economic results.
In introducing the new Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian, Kocharian
described
him as “professional, firm, and principled.”
Hovsepian, who served as prosecutor-general from 1998-99, was forced to resign
along with the ministers of interior and national security in the wake of the
October 1999 killings in the Armenian parliament.
Kocharian explained that Hovsepian had been forced to resign for purely
political reasons. “I think that [his appointment] is also a restoration of
justice,” he said.
In conclusion, the President emphasized that the Prosecutor’s Office is a body
approved by the Constitution and should assume its responsibilities
thoroughly.  “I expect more decisive work from the newly appointed Prosecutor
and you,” the leader of the country underscored. “There is a [anti-corruption]
program approved by the government, that features a quite important role to
the
office. We expect more resolute work from the new prosecutor.”

2) Javakhk Armenians Concur with CE Secretary General, Request Meeting

AKHALKALAKI–Representatives of Javakhk Armenian Non-Governmental
Organizations
(NGO), have expressed full agreement with Council of Europe (CE) Secretary
General Walter Schwimmer’s calls for a decentralized structure in Georgia, and
increased authority to regional and local authorities.
“In recent months, we have appealed to the highest authorities of Georgia,
fully supporting certain constitutional reforms that ensure Georgia’s
sovereignty and integrity, while establishing a confederate structure,” the
NGOs stated in a March 11 letter to the Secretary General, which was presented
to the CE Information Office in Tbilisi on Wednesday.
During his most recent formal talks with President Saakashvili and other
Georgian authorities in late February, Schwimmer advocating a decentralized
structure for Georgia, said. “Of course, this means that Council of Europe
standards with respect to the rule of law, human rights and pluralist
democracy
have to be implemented at all levels.”
Javakhk’s NGOs, pointing to violations of the Georgia’s constitution, said
that
the region has been deprived of fundamental human and ethnic minority rights
that are not only guaranteed by the Constitution and affirmed by international
standards, but also necessary for establishing a democratic and civil society.
“In fact, the process of fulfilling the country’s commitments to the
Council of
Europe has failed. Rejection of the constitutionally-guaranteed principle of
self-governance has left many regions of the country to their fate, resulting
in current dangerous developments,” the NGOs stressed.
In closing, the NGOs request a meeting with Schwimmer, and state that only a
“civilized resolution” to the deep crisis will clarify the region’s
administrative borders, and grant autonomy by way of the constitution.

3) Ajaria Blockade Ends, Stability Restored

BATUMI (Eurasianet)–Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on March 18
ordered
the lifting of an economic blockade against the renegade region of Ajaria. The
announcement followed direct talks between the president and Ajarian leader
that resolved “all the questions” that had prompted an armed standoff over the
past four days, according to Saakashvili.
Saakashvili’s face-to-face meeting with Abashidze in Batumi lasted over three
hours. Saakashvili seemed to be in a buoyant mood following the
discussions. “I
believe we have achieved full mutual understanding,” he said. A terse
Abashidze, meanwhile, concurred that “all the disputable issues have been
settled.”
Georgia imposed measures that sought to economically isolate Ajaria following
an incident March 14, in which Ajarian border guards prevented Saakashvili’s
motorcade from entering the region. Georgian security forces retaliated by
sealing the port at the Ajarian capital of Batumi. In addition, Tbilisi had
brought a halt to all banking activity in the region.
Saakashvili’s chief demands for ending the blockade were: unimpeded access by
central government officials to the territory, central government oversight
over tax and customs revenue collection in the region, and a guarantee of a
free and fair parliamentary campaign and election on March 28.
Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze has doggedly tried to preserve broad autonomous
powers, specifically control over locally generated revenue. Abashidze has
likewise attempted to maintain tight control over Ajaria’s political
environment, fearful that free elections would break his tight grip on power.
In recent weeks, opposition political activists have endured physical attacks
and other forms of harassment at the hands of Abashidze loyalists.
According to a Rustavi-2 television report, in return for the lifting of the
economic blockade, Abashidze acknowledged the central government’s right to
“impose control over customs, the port and all strategic offices.” The Ajarian
leader also pledged to allow competitive elections and “provide freedom of
speech on the territory of the Ajarian autonomous republic.” In addition,
Abashidze is to be held personally responsible for disarming armed bands of
Ajarian citizens that had been mobilized in recent days.
While clearly happy with the results, Saakashvili cautioned that Abashidze
would be judged on the implementation of the points of agreement. Initial
indicators showed that the March 28 parliamentary could prove a source of
ongoing tension. After his meeting with Abashidze, Saakashvili went to the
headquarters of a major regional opposition movement, Our Ajaria. Abashidze
supporters reportedly restricted access to the meeting, preventing some
opposition activists from attending, Rustavi-2 reported. In addition, regional
television, which is controlled by Abashidze, did not report on the meeting.
Pressure on Abashidze to hold a fair election is not coming solely from
Tbilisi. Prior to the announced ending of the economic blockade, Georgian
officials revealed that Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer
had telephoned Abashidze, urging the Ajarian leader to provide for an open
campaign environment.
For the moment, Saakashvili seemed sufficiently satisfied that the Ajaria
crisis has been defused that he left the country, flying directly from Batumi
to Slovakia to attend an international conference on European Union
enlargement.
One of the main goals of Saakashvili’s presidency is the reestablishment of
Tbilisi’s authority over all of Georgia’s territory. Indeed, prior to his
arrival in Batumi for the talks with Abashidze, Saakashvili stated that his
“responsibility before the history of Georgia means that I must unify
Georgia.”
The apparent outcome of the Ajaria crisis marks a quantum leap by
Saakashvili’s
administration towards fulfillment of the unity goal. Of course, the two most
difficult stumbling blocks to reestablishing the territorial integrity of
Georgia–political settlements to the Abkhazia and South Ossetia
conflicts–are
likely to prove far more difficult to resolve than did the Ajaria question.

4) Armenia At Last Formally Protests British Envoy’s Genocide Denial

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenia has sent a diplomatic note to Britain protesting its
ambassador to Armenia’s inflammatory remark that the 1915 slaughter of more
than one million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey was not a genocide, a spokesman
said on Thursday.
Ambassador Thorda Abbott-Watt’s explicit denial of the genocide, voiced at a
meeting with students last month and reiterated afterwards, has caused an
uproar in Armenia and especially the Diaspora. She has been bombarded with
angry letters over the past two weeks, condemning her and demanding an
apology.
Abbott-Watt argues that her comments reflect the position of the British
government which does not recognize the mass killings as genocide. “I am sorry
that my Government’s position on how we refer to the events of 1915-16 causes
you personal distress,” she replied to an Armenian-American critic by e-mail
last week.
There have also been calls for the Armenian government to seek the envoy’s
expulsion from Armenia. But both President Robert Kocharian and the Foreign
Ministry have ruled out that option. The ministry spokesman Hamlet Gasparian,
said Yerevan can only “regret such a position.”
“Such issues are better dealt with through diplomatic channels, not publicly,”
Gasparian said in a statement. “As in the past, this time, too, the
authorities
expressed their position to the UK government with a diplomatic note.”
“Of course each country has its position on this matter, based on its own
strategic interests. However, the ambassadors of those countries to Armenia
should approach such a sensitive issue with great caution and sensitivity.”
In February 2002, the Foreign Ministry protested to Israel over its Ambassador
Rivka Kohen’s similar denial of the genocide. Kohen had told reporters in
Yerevan earlier that what happened to the Armenians was just a “tragedy” that
should not be compared to the Jewish Holocaust. Yerevan’s reaction was more
strongly-worded at the time.
It is not the first time that the current British government’s handling of the
sensitive issue comes into question. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s cabinet faced
domestic protests in January 2001 when it attempted to exclude Armenians from
official ceremonies marking Britain’s Holocaust Memorial Day. It caved in
under
pressure from prominent public figures and media.
“The Daily Telegraph,” the UK’s best-selling broadsheet newspaper, referred to
the events of 1915 as “the first genocide of the modern era.” “Britain stands
firm among a dwindling band of nations that fail to acknowledge the massacres
were genocide,” another leading London daily, “The Guardian,” wrote in a
lengthy article on the subject.
Ironically, the British statesmen’s First World War-era accounts have been a
major source of reference for the Armenians in their campaign for
international
recognition of the genocide. The Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, for
example, has a plaque dedicated to Lord James Bryce, whose 700-page Blue Book,
a collection of evidence of the massacres, was published by the British
Foreign
Office in 1916.

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PRESS RELEASE
Stanford, California.
Anahid Yeremian
P.O. Box 655
Menlo Park, CA 94026
Tel: 650 – 926 – 6634
Fax: 650 – 926 – 5368
Email: [email protected]

Stanford Graduates Launch Annual Armenian Genocide Commemoration Fast
for Armenia

Chris Guzelian and Alex Vartan are pleasantly punctual for a pair of
busy Stanford graduate students. They are in my office, they tell me,
because they have come up with a novel way of helping the children of
Armenia.

The pair’s plan is simple but powerful. They are calling for an
international, day-long fast on Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day,
Saturday, April 24, 2004. Participants are asked to donate the money
that they would have spent on food that day to Armenian
charities. With a combined 10 years at Stanford in the heart of
Silicon Valley, Guzelian and Vartan understand the power of the
Internet in uniting people across the globe. So they have built
, making the donation process as simple as
buying a book from Amazon.com.

Guzelian explains how he and Vartan decided on a fast as the
centerpiece of their charity movement, Fast for Armenia. `We knew we
wanted to have a charity drive on [April] 24th and hit upon this idea
to focus on aiding Armenia’s youth. Fasting serves as a reminder of
the abundance with which we Diaspora Armenians are blessed today, our
ancestors’ sacrifices and suffering, and the troubles Armenia’s
children contend with every day.’

Vartan stresses that the website isn’t just for collecting donations:
`The website will allow us to accept credit card donations with ease –
but more than that, it will offer detailed information about the
projects and have downloadable marketing material so that anyone can
help publicize this event at their school, church or place of work.’

Donors can specify whether their funds will go to the Children of
Armenia Fund’s (COAF) Model Village project, or its Textbooks for
Armenian Schoolchildren project. As beneficiaries of the inaugural
Fast for Armenia, these specific projects were carefully selected
because they are successfully meeting impoverished Armenians’ basic
needs.

COAF is a nonprofit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. The Model Village
project is developing the basic infrastructure of Karakert, an
agricultural Armenian village with 5,000 inhabitants; as well as
programs that emphasize education, economic development and health
care needs

Dr. Garo Armen, the chairman and founder of COAF, explained to us that
the next five years will be critical for the children and the youth of
Armenia. “Without our help there is a substantial risk that they will
lose all hope and face an uncertain future. The goal of the programs
at COAF is to provide the basic infrastructure and training for these
children so that they can learn, as well as receive essential and
preventive medical care. COAF programs are designed to be sustainable
to ensure the long-term viability of Armenia,’ Guzelian said. `This
village on the Turkish border has no drinkable water, inadequate
medical facilities, and crumbling schoolhouses. But because of COAF,
spirits are high.’

By improving Karakert, COAF is demonstrating that even the most
destitute Armenian villages can be brought up to suitable standards of
living, cost-efficiently. Vartan notes, `Already, trucks are
delivering potable water and a new school is in the planning
stages. But much more needs to be done. COAF has organized a local
governing council and has asked them to prioritize their needs. The
number one priority of the community was improving their schools –
ahead of adding running water and bathrooms in homes.’

The project’s success is expected to motivate international aid
organizations and donors to realize that the development of rural
Armenia is both feasible and necessary. Once these programs have
demonstrated success, COAF expects the formula to be repeated
throughout rural parts of the country, which is critical for a
self-sustaining Armenia.

During the soviet era Armenia was given special consideration because
of its human and intellectual capital; since the collapse of the
Soviet Union the absence of resources and structure has created an
enormous void which risks the endangerment of this terrific people
resource. Thus the next five years are critical in making certain
that people’s hope for a promising future is maintained and the only
way to accomplish this is to make sure that there are substantive and
sustainable efforts underway as soon as possible.

COAF’s Textbooks for Armenian Children project delivers modern
textbooks to Armenian schoolchildren in regions where few, if any,
children have access to such materials. Guzelian and Vartan explain
that the future of Armenia depends on its intellectual
resources. These children will be the leaders, the artists, the
scientists, and the businessmen that will sustain Armenia in the long
term. Only $10 pays for a year’s use of textbooks for one child. The
Fast for Armenia drive will equip as many village schools with
textbooks as your generosity will permit.

Vartan stresses that the key to Fast for Armenia’s success is
widespread grassroots participation, and he believes that Armenians
and their friends will support it in impressive numbers.

Guzelian believes Fast for Armenia answers many common hopes of
Armenians in a unified project. `Each year,’ he explains, `so many
people make admirable efforts to get the public and world governments
to remember the genocide. Every year we see progress in baby steps,
and every year, we see so many Armenians and their supporters
disappointed that their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. We wanted an
outlet to constructively honor our ancestors and Fast for Armenia is
it. It commemorates the genocide as fittingly as ever, in part because
fasting requires self-sacrifice and devotion, which shows how strongly
Armenians believe in the need for official genocide recognition. But
equally important, the charity drive portion of Fast for Armenia
translates to hope for Armenia’s children and future.

`We believe everyone can and will participate in Fast for Armenia,’
continues Guzelian, tapping keenly on the table to emphasize his
point. `Whether you fast, donate money, or volunteer, do something! If
you have media connections, get them to report on Fast for Armenia, or
on the projects it is supporting. Even children are encouraged to
participate by, say, giving up their desserts or snacks. Get others,
including non-Armenians, to fast. Involve your workplaces, schools,
communities, churches and social organizations!’

In future years, Guzelian and Vartan plan to expand Fast for Armenia
by allowing other proven Armenian charities to become fundraising
recipients. `Any charitable organization that demonstrates it is
contributing to the well-being of the Armenian people could
potentially participate,’ says Vartan. `Fast for Armenia also wants to
recruit matching patrons, who will pledge to support the drive by
matching some fraction of its funds, dollar-for-dollar.’

I am awed and amazed, and wonder why someone didn’t think of this
sooner. I offer a quick question to my grandparents in heaven, `Is our
promise to `never forget’ being carried out to your satisfaction?’
After speaking to these young men, I know my answer is an enthusiastic
`Yes!’ I am filled with pride and hope, and I pledge them my
unwavering support and pray that you will, too.

As this ambitious pair of young Stanford graduates get up to leave, I
am convinced that the schoolchildren of Armenia and the inhabitants of
Karakert will have their dire conditions improved after April 24, and
that the genocide’s memory is being well guarded by this generation of
young Armenians.

—–
For more information about Fast for Armenia and this year’s projects,
or to volunteer your assistance, log on to and
click on the `How can I help?’ link.

Photo: Chris Guzelian (left) and Alex Vartan take a moment to pose at
the arches of Stanford’s Inner Quad.

International Herald Tribune

Quiet end to Georgia standoff

Seth Mydans/NYT NYT Friday, March 19, 2004
Concessions bring region back into fold

TBILISI, Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that he had won
key concessions from the leader of the renegade province of Adzharia and
that he would lift a four-day-old economic blockade.

“The sanctions will be lifted from midnight tonight because we have resolved
all the issues that led to this misunderstanding which arose between the
local administration and the Georgian government,” he said after meeting
with the leader, Aslan Abashidze, in the provincial capital, Batumi.

“I want to underline that there is no conflict with Adzharia and such a
conflict cannot be,” he said.

The deal defuses a crisis that was touched off Sunday when armed men
supporting Abashidze had refused to allow the president to enter Adzharia.

Saakashvili had placed Georgian troops on alert and Abashidze had declared a
state of emergency in his fiefdom and had sent armed men into the streets.

The standoff had threatened to have international repercussions as officials
from Moscow, which has a military base in Adzharia, had voiced support for
Abashidze.

According to wire service reports from Batumi, Abashidze will allow
parliamentary elections to proceed on March 28, will review the cases of
imprisoned opponents and will disarm his paramilitary militias.

Officials from the central government in Tbilisi will be based in Batumi to
assure that the government receives customs duties that Abashidze had
withheld in the past, the reports said.

Abashidze later said, “The meeting showed that there are no issues that
cannot be resolved.”

The specifics of the agreements were not made public and it was not clear
how much Abashidze had conceded of the economic and military control he had
exercised in what Saakashvili had likened to “a feudal chief from medieval
times.”

Political analysts here said it appeared that the president had earned at
least short-term concessions from Abashidze that would allow the election to
proceed and pro-government supporters to campaign.

Abashidze has harassed and arrested opponents and made it almost impossible
for supporters of the central government to campaign or move freely.

Saakashvili has said Abashidze’s “time is past” and analysts said it was
difficult to see how a compromise could be reached that would allow him to
remain in office. He was one of the last supporters of Eduard Shevardnadze
last November when he was driven from the presidency by a peaceful uprising
led by Saakashvili.

Before traveling to Batumi on Thursday morning, Saakashvili had sounded a
tough note, saying, “I am not going to be horse-trading with anyone or
meeting anyone halfway. The law should be observed across all of Georgia’s
territory. We are not doing any deals.”

He added: “We are speaking here about my subordinate.”

The meeting in Batumi was accompanied by rowdy televised scenes of crowds
chanting, “Babu! Babu!” – a word that means “grandfather” – in support of
Abashidze and other protesters in the distance chanting Saakashvili’s
nickname, “Misha! Misha!”

The blockade, which began on Monday, was causing economic disruption in
neighboring Turkey and Armenia and particularly in Azerbaijan, where
thousands of rail cars carrying oil to the port at Batumi were stranded on
sidings.

Oil exports set to resume

Georgia’s second-largest oil port, Batumi on the Black Sea, will resume oil
exports at midnight Thursday, after the blockade against Ajaria is lifted,
port officials said, Bloomberg News reported.

Georgia had been blocking the approaches to Batumi with gunships.

< < Back to Start of Article Concessions bring region back into fold

TBILISI, Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that he had won
key concessions from the leader of the renegade province of Adzharia and
that he would lift a four-day-old economic blockade.

“The sanctions will be lifted from midnight tonight because we have resolved
all the issues that led to this misunderstanding which arose between the
local administration and the Georgian government,” he said after meeting
with the leader, Aslan Abashidze, in the provincial capital, Batumi.

“I want to underline that there is no conflict with Adzharia and such a
conflict cannot be,” he said.

The deal defuses a crisis that was touched off Sunday when armed men
supporting Abashidze had refused to allow the president to enter Adzharia.

Saakashvili had placed Georgian troops on alert and Abashidze had declared a
state of emergency in his fiefdom and had sent armed men into the streets.

The standoff had threatened to have international repercussions as officials
from Moscow, which has a military base in Adzharia, had voiced support for
Abashidze.

According to wire service reports from Batumi, Abashidze will allow
parliamentary elections to proceed on March 28, will review the cases of
imprisoned opponents and will disarm his paramilitary militias.

Officials from the central government in Tbilisi will be based in Batumi to
assure that the government receives customs duties that Abashidze had
withheld in the past, the reports said.

Abashidze later said, “The meeting showed that there are no issues that
cannot be resolved.”

The specifics of the agreements were not made public and it was not clear
how much Abashidze had conceded of the economic and military control he had
exercised in what Saakashvili had likened to “a feudal chief from medieval
times.”

Political analysts here said it appeared that the president had earned at
least short-term concessions from Abashidze that would allow the election to
proceed and pro-government supporters to campaign.

Abashidze has harassed and arrested opponents and made it almost impossible
for supporters of the central government to campaign or move freely.

Saakashvili has said Abashidze’s “time is past” and analysts said it was
difficult to see how a compromise could be reached that would allow him to
remain in office. He was one of the last supporters of Eduard Shevardnadze
last November when he was driven from the presidency by a peaceful uprising
led by Saakashvili.

Before traveling to Batumi on Thursday morning, Saakashvili had sounded a
tough note, saying, “I am not going to be horse-trading with anyone or
meeting anyone halfway. The law should be observed across all of Georgia’s
territory. We are not doing any deals.”

He added: “We are speaking here about my subordinate.”

The meeting in Batumi was accompanied by rowdy televised scenes of crowds
chanting, “Babu! Babu!” – a word that means “grandfather” – in support of
Abashidze and other protesters in the distance chanting Saakashvili’s
nickname, “Misha! Misha!”

The blockade, which began on Monday, was causing economic disruption in
neighboring Turkey and Armenia and particularly in Azerbaijan, where
thousands of rail cars carrying oil to the port at Batumi were stranded on
sidings.

Oil exports set to resume

Georgia’s second-largest oil port, Batumi on the Black Sea, will resume oil
exports at midnight Thursday, after the blockade against Ajaria is lifted,
port officials said, Bloomberg News reported.

Georgia had been blocking the approaches to Batumi with gunships.
Concessions bring region back into fold

TBILISI, Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that he had won
key concessions from the leader of the renegade province of Adzharia and
that he would lift a four-day-old economic blockade.

“The sanctions will be lifted from midnight tonight because we have resolved
all the issues that led to this misunderstanding which arose between the
local administration and the Georgian government,” he said after meeting
with the leader, Aslan Abashidze, in the provincial capital, Batumi.

“I want to underline that there is no conflict with Adzharia and such a
conflict cannot be,” he said.

The deal defuses a crisis that was touched off Sunday when armed men
supporting Abashidze had refused to allow the president to enter Adzharia.

Saakashvili had placed Georgian troops on alert and Abashidze had declared a
state of emergency in his fiefdom and had sent armed men into the streets.

The standoff had threatened to have international repercussions as officials
from Moscow, which has a military base in Adzharia, had voiced support for
Abashidze.

According to wire service reports from Batumi, Abashidze will allow
parliamentary elections to proceed on March 28, will review the cases of
imprisoned opponents and will disarm his paramilitary militias.

Officials from the central government in Tbilisi will be based in Batumi to
assure that the government receives customs duties that Abashidze had
withheld in the past, the reports said.

Abashidze later said, “The meeting showed that there are no issues that
cannot be resolved.”

The specifics of the agreements were not made public and it was not clear
how much Abashidze had conceded of the economic and military control he had
exercised in what Saakashvili had likened to “a feudal chief from medieval
times.”

Political analysts here said it appeared that the president had earned at
least short-term concessions from Abashidze that would allow the election to
proceed and pro-government supporters to campaign.

Abashidze has harassed and arrested opponents and made it almost impossible
for supporters of the central government to campaign or move freely.

Saakashvili has said Abashidze’s “time is past” and analysts said it was
difficult to see how a compromise could be reached that would allow him to
remain in office. He was one of the last supporters of Eduard Shevardnadze
last November when he was driven from the presidency by a peaceful uprising
led by Saakashvili.

Before traveling to Batumi on Thursday morning, Saakashvili had sounded a
tough note, saying, “I am not going to be horse-trading with anyone or
meeting anyone halfway. The law should be observed across all of Georgia’s
territory. We are not doing any deals.”

He added: “We are speaking here about my subordinate.”

The meeting in Batumi was accompanied by rowdy televised scenes of crowds
chanting, “Babu! Babu!” – a word that means “grandfather” – in support of
Abashidze and other protesters in the distance chanting Saakashvili’s
nickname, “Misha! Misha!”

The blockade, which began on Monday, was causing economic disruption in
neighboring Turkey and Armenia and particularly in Azerbaijan, where
thousands of rail cars carrying oil to the port at Batumi were stranded on
sidings.

Oil exports set to resume

Georgia’s second-largest oil port, Batumi on the Black Sea, will resume oil
exports at midnight Thursday, after the blockade against Ajaria is lifted,
port officials said, Bloomberg News reported.

Georgia had been blocking the approaches to Batumi with gunships.
Concessions bring region back into fold

TBILISI, Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that he had won
key concessions from the leader of the renegade province of Adzharia and
that he would lift a four-day-old economic blockade.

“The sanctions will be lifted from midnight tonight because we have resolved
all the issues that led to this misunderstanding which arose between the
local administration and the Georgian government,” he said after meeting
with the leader, Aslan Abashidze, in the provincial capital, Batumi.

“I want to underline that there is no conflict with Adzharia and such a
conflict cannot be,” he said.

The deal defuses a crisis that was touched off Sunday when armed men
supporting Abashidze had refused to allow the president to enter Adzharia.

Saakashvili had placed Georgian troops on alert and Abashidze had declared a
state of emergency in his fiefdom and had sent armed men into the streets.

The standoff had threatened to have international repercussions as officials
from Moscow, which has a military base in Adzharia, had voiced support for
Abashidze.

According to wire service reports from Batumi, Abashidze will allow
parliamentary elections to proceed on March 28, will review the cases of
imprisoned opponents and will disarm his paramilitary militias.

Officials from the central government in Tbilisi will be based in Batumi to
assure that the government receives customs duties that Abashidze had
withheld in the past, the reports said.

Abashidze later said, “The meeting showed that there are no issues that
cannot be resolved.”

The specifics of the agreements were not made public and it was not clear
how much Abashidze had conceded of the economic and military control he had
exercised in what Saakashvili had likened to “a feudal chief from medieval
times.”

Political analysts here said it appeared that the president had earned at
least short-term concessions from Abashidze that would allow the election to
proceed and pro-government supporters to campaign.

Abashidze has harassed and arrested opponents and made it almost impossible
for supporters of the central government to campaign or move freely.

Saakashvili has said Abashidze’s “time is past” and analysts said it was
difficult to see how a compromise could be reached that would allow him to
remain in office. He was one of the last supporters of Eduard Shevardnadze
last November when he was driven from the presidency by a peaceful uprising
led by Saakashvili.

Before traveling to Batumi on Thursday morning, Saakashvili had sounded a
tough note, saying, “I am not going to be horse-trading with anyone or
meeting anyone halfway. The law should be observed across all of Georgia’s
territory. We are not doing any deals.”

He added: “We are speaking here about my subordinate.”

The meeting in Batumi was accompanied by rowdy televised scenes of crowds
chanting, “Babu! Babu!” – a word that means “grandfather” – in support of
Abashidze and other protesters in the distance chanting Saakashvili’s
nickname, “Misha! Misha!”

The blockade, which began on Monday, was causing economic disruption in
neighboring Turkey and Armenia and particularly in Azerbaijan, where
thousands of rail cars carrying oil to the port at Batumi were stranded on
sidings.

Oil exports set to resume

Georgia’s second-largest oil port, Batumi on the Black Sea, will resume oil
exports at midnight Thursday, after the blockade against Ajaria is lifted,
port officials said, Bloomberg News reported.

Georgia had been blocking the approaches to Batumi with gunships.

A1 Plus | 17:29:52 | 18-03-2004 | Politics |

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN RESTORES JUSTICE

President Kocharyan introduced newly appointed Prosecutor General Aghvan
Hovsepyan to the office staff on Thursday.

Kocharyan said there is no need of special introducing as his nominee is
well-known in justice area: he worked at the post of Prosecutor General for
long years and has been dismissed not for mismanagement but because of
political situation in the country.

President said his move is motivated by desire to restore justice. “A real
professional, a strong and high-principled man”, Kocharyan said portraying
Hovsepyan. “I’ve known him since 1981, he has long worked in Nagorno
Karabakh”, Kocharyan added.

In his opinion, Prosecutor Office is increasingly loosing confidence and its
role as one of the most important institutions in the country.

In his words, the Prosecutor Office must be the key institution in combat
against corruption and other crimes. It should secure state property and
state interests.

“We expect more vigorous work from the new prosecutor”, Robert Kocharyan
said.

—