FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

=================================================

Friday 12 March 2004
TURKMENISTAN: SCEPTICISM AND OPTIMISM GREET SURPRISE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE

Despite a surprise 11 March decree from President Saparmurat Niyazov
lifting the requirement that a religious community must have 500 adult
citizen members before it can register, officials have insisted that
unregistered religious activity remains illegal. Bibi Agina of the Adalat
(Justice) Ministry told Forum 18 that the decree does not mean that
unregistered religious communities can start to meet freely in private
homes. Some believers are optimistic that the decree might be a signal of a
relaxation of Turkmenistan’s harsh restrictions on religious communities –
which have seen all Protestant, Armenian Apostolic, Shia Muslim, Jewish,
Hare Krishna, Baha’i and Jehovah’s Witness communities banned. “The
authorities have tried up till now to use repressive measures and have
understood this is unsuccessful,” one Protestant told Forum 18. “They seem
now to be trying to bring religious communities under state control –
perhaps a cleverer policy.”

TURKMENISTAN: SCEPTICISM AND OPTIMISM GREET SURPRISE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE

By Igor Rotar, Forum 18 News Service, and
Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

Religious believers of the many illegal faiths – including all Protestant,
Armenian Apostolic, Shia Muslim, Jewish, Hare Krishna, Baha’i and Jehovah’s
Witness communities – have been taken by surprise by an 11 March decree
from Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president Saparmurat Niyazov allowing
religious communities to gain official registration regardless of how many
members they have or what faith they belong to. Some have told Forum 18
News Service they are optimistic that conditions will improve, though
others – especially from groups that have regularly suffered fines,
beatings and threats – are sceptical. Under the country’s harsh religion
law, communities have previously needed five hundred adult citizen members
(a requirement almost impossible for religious minorities to achieve),
while since last November unregistered religious activity has been a crime.
The new decree makes no mention of decriminalising unregistered religious
activity.

Bibi Agina, an official of the department that registers social
organisations at the Adalat (Justice) Ministry, told Forum 18 that the
decree does not mean that unregistered religious communities can start to
meet freely in private homes. “As before, religious communities can only
function after they get registration,” she told Forum 18 from Ashgabad on
12 March. “The decree simply gives religious communities like the Baptists
and others the possibility to work legally.”

Officials at the government’s Gengeshi (Council) for Religious Affairs
were, as usual, reluctant to talk, putting down the phone when Forum 18
telephoned. Eventually Forum 18 managed to speak to Mukhamed (who refused
to give his last name), an aide to the deputy chairman Murad Karriyev, who
said the same as Agina that the decree does not entitle unregistered
religious communities to begin to function. “They still need registration,”
he insisted to Forum 18.

Radik Zakirov, a Protestant from Ashgabad, said his community is not
preparing to register under the new decree. But he believed it might mark a
change of policy. “The authorities have tried up till now to use repressive
measures and have understood this is unsuccessful,” he told Forum 18 on 12
March. “They seem now to be trying to bring religious communities under
state control – perhaps a cleverer policy.”

One immediate welcome for the decree came from Armenia’s Ambassador to
Turkmenistan, Aram Grigorian, who has been seeking the return to the local
Armenian community of their church in the Caspian port city of Turkmenbashi
(formerly Krasnovodsk), which was confiscated during the Soviet period.
“This is a very progressive decree,” he told Forum 18 from Ashgabad on 12
March. “We will try to make use of it.”

The government has not allowed any Armenian Apostolic churches to reopen or
open in Turkmenistan and, if they wish to attend services, Armenian
Apostolic believers are forced to go to the only legal Christian
denomination, the Russian Orthodox Church, although the Armenian Church is
of the Oriental family of Christian Churches, not the Orthodox.

Vasili Kalin, chairman of the ruling council of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in
Russia, who maintains close ties with fellow believers in Turkmenistan, was
cautiously optimistic over what he regarded as perhaps the start of a
process of improvement. “We welcome the guarantees of freedom of religion
and registration in the decree,” he told Forum 18 from St Petersburg on 12
March, “but experience teaches us to look at what happens in practice.”
Anatoly Melnik, a Jehovah’s Witness leader from Kazakhstan with contacts in
Turkmenistan, was more pessimistic over whether the decree will improve
life for their communities, believing the decree might be simply a
“propaganda measure”.

Kalin said their communities in Turkmenistan are ready to register, but
pointed out that several Jehovah’s Witnesses remain in prison for their
faith. “It would be a good gesture that Turkmenistan is ready to abide by
its international human rights commitments if these innocent people would
be freed. We hope to see that soon.” He said the new decree might be a
signal that Turkmenistan is changing “just as in the Soviet Union when the
situation changed”. He pointed out that moving from illegality in the
Soviet Union to a position where Jehovah’s Witnesses could register their
communities took time.

One Protestant, whose church has had numerous problems from the authorities
and has to meet in secret to try to evade state control, was sceptical
about whether the decree would make a lot of difference. “We know about the
decree,” the Protestant – who preferred not to be identified – told Forum
18. “But are we optimistic? Not so much.”

A Christian representative outside Turkmenistan with close links in the
country told Forum 18 that “if the decree becomes a reality, it will be
good”. The representative noted that without registration the church has
faced a number of problems, including the impossibility of acquiring
property for services.

Most sceptical were leaders of unregistered Protestant churches. Viktor
Makrousov of the Pentecostal church (who had not yet seen the decree) and
Vladimir Tolmachev of Greater Grace both separately believed the situation
is unlikely to improve on the ground. “Our main problem has not been the
500 signatures required for registration – we could achieve that,”
Tolmachev told Forum 18 from Ashgabad on 12 March. “The problem is that
people signing the registration application would get problems – they would
be sacked from their work, especially those who are ethnic Turkmens. It is
a problem of people’s safety.”

Niyazov’s decree, reported on state television on 11 March and published in
Russian on the pro-government website turkmenistan.ru, claims that the
country “carries out fully” its commitments under the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief “while securing the harmony of
the religious confessions functioning in Turkmenistan”. In reality, the
government has flagrantly violated these international commitments amid the
heaviest controls on religious life of all the former Soviet republics.

The decree – which comes into force today (12 March) – sets out three
provisions:

“1. To secure the registration on the territory of Turkmenistan of
religious organisations and groups in accordance with generally-accepted
international norms and procedures.

“2. To register on the territory of Turkmenistan according to established
procedure religious groups of citizens independently of their number, faith
and religion.

“3. The Adalat Ministry of Turkmenistan is to put into effect the current
decree from the day of its publication.”

The decree was published at the same time as a decree ordering the lifting
of exit controls on Turkmenistan’s citizens. Both this and the denial of
religious freedom have been heavily criticised by foreign governments and
human rights activists. Religious believers within the country are
generally too frightened to speak out openly against the restrictions on
their religious activity.

For more background see Forum 18’s report on the new religion law at

and Forum 18’s latest religious freedom survey at

A printer-friendly map of Turkmenistan is available at
tml?Parent=asia&Rootmap=turkme
(END)

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F18News

Past and current Forum 18 information can be found at

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CENN – MARCH 12, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. GIOC – Georgian International Oil Corporation — Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
Main Export Pipeline Construction
2. Talks Begin on Heavy Metal Air Pollution Deal
3. International Fundraising Workshop, Ukraine May 10-23, 2004
4. International-caliber graduate Program in Economics

1. GIOC – GEORGIAN INTERNATIONAL OIL CORPORATION
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline Construction

The Georgian International Oil Corporation has the honor to inform the
audience that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline Construction
has moved into a significant phase. GIOC will continuously update you on
the progress of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline
Construction process to ensure open and transparent implementation of
the project.

AS OF OCTOBER 2003

Pipeline stringing has taken place along 50 km of the corridor
Welding of pipes has been carried out along 45 km of the corridor
Pipe laying has been carried out along 20 km of the corridor
2650 Georgian nationals have been directly employed by the project

DURING THE CONSTRUCTION

Georgian companies have performed 8 273 000 Gel worth construction works

Land and crop compensation worth 14 960 000 Gel has been paid to 2350
households
4 031 000 Gel worth construction and inert materials have been purchased
from Georgian companies
553 000 Gel worth food product have been purchased from local population

293 700 Gel has been paid to local population as a rental fee for
apartments
6 756 850 has been paid to Batumi and Poti ports for receiving and
handling project cargo
6 104 800 has been paid to the railway of Georgia for transportation of
project cargo
754 00 has been paid to the central and local budgets of Georgia
To date over 10 000 Georgian nationals rendered different services and
participated in the project

THE PROJECT’S ECONOMIC EFFECT ON THE THOUSANDS OF GEORGIA’S HOUSEHOLDS
IS TREMENDOUS

GOIC informs you that any project-related information will be
permanently available to you
Should you have comments, proposals of questions, out hot line: +995 32
92 02 54 will be at your service every day from 10:00 to 18:00.

Furthermore, GIOC offices are open in the districts crossed by the
pipeline, at the following addresses:

1. 74, David Agmashenebeli str.., Power Networkings building, Gardabani
2. 34, Tamar Mepis str., Local Administration building, Tetritskaro
3. 22, Aristotle str., Local Administration building, Tsalka
4. 1, Rustaveli str., Local Administration building, Borjomi
5. 11, Tamarasheni str., District Administration building, Akhalstikhe

The office of Georgian International Oil Corporation
4, Sanapiro str., Tbilisi
Tel: +995 32 92 02 46/47

2. TALKS BEGIN ON HEAVY METAL AIR POLLUTION DEAL

The EU is moving towards agreeing semi-binding targets to cut heavy
metal pollution in ambient air, Environment Daily has learned. MEPs and
the council of ministers are to confer soon on the chances of reaching
first-reading agreement on the fourth air quality daughter directive
before the European parliament dissolves in May for elections.

EU sources say a majority of member states now favour setting targets
for reducing arsenic, cadmium and nickel pollution from industrial
installations, to be met on the crucial condition that the abatement
effort does not create excessive costs.

The plan is still a step up from the European Commission’s original
proposal, which junked the idea of limits entirely and instead set out
monitoring thresholds linked to the use of best available techniques
under the IPPC directive. The Commission did however retain a target for
a fourth pollutant, PAHs (ED 07/07/03).

MEPs were due to debate the directive in Strasbourg late on Tuesday but
a vote has been postponed to allow the possibility of a deal with the
council first. Rapporteur Hans Kronberger, of the Austrian Freedom
Party, will sound out the willingness for compromise among colleagues of
different political hues on Wednesday.

Mr Kronberger had earlier persuaded the environment committee to back
fully binding limit values for the three metals, a much stronger
position that would almost certainly have triggered conciliation talks
with the council (ED 21/01/04).

But it did so only narrowly and it was not certain that the stance would
be backed by the full assembly. This may have increased the rapporteur’s
appetite for compromise. “We thought maybe it was better to get a good
agreement early rather than have this delayed by two years,” an aide to
Mr Kronberger told Environment Daily on Tuesday.

If the idea of qualified targets does come to pass, it is likely to
leave installation owners dissatisfied. “It might create a burden
similar to binding limit values depending on how member states implement
it,” an industry source told Environment Daily today. At least Austria,
Germany and Denmark are thought to favour binding limit values and may
apply this philosophy when transposing the directive, firms fear.
ENDS, March 9, 2004

3. INTERNATIONAL FUNDRAISING WORKSHOP, UKRAINE MAY 10-23, 2004
Center of Philanthropy
International Fundraising Institute Project
Organization Futures LLC, Strategic Fundraising and Capacity Building,
USA
International Workshop on Fundraising `Backstage of the Fundraising:
Foundation of the Future of Our Organization’ May 19-23, 2003, Kiev,
Ukraine

The seminar will be held in the framework of the series of seminars on
fundraising. The objectives of the seminars are:

ž Solution of the base issue of the civil society in the post communist
countries, particularly achieving financial all sufficient and
sustainability
ž Training in fundraising

The program of the seminar:

ž Strategic approaches to the resources
ž Organizational and human resources management
ž Juridical aspects of the fundraising
ž Psychological and communication issues of the fundraising
ž Management and monitoring of the fundraising
ž Ethic and meaning of ethical conduct of the fundraising

Working language of the workshop Russian and English (With translation).

The representatives of governmental organizations and NGOs, fundraiser
consultants and all interested parties of NIS and Eastern Europe are
welcome to participate in the seminar.

Registration fee 200 USD

Early registration deadline before April 1, 2004 discount 10% of the
registration fee.

For the additional information please contact:
Center of Philanthropy
E-mail: [email protected]

4. INTERNATIONAL-CALIBER GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ECONOMICS

The Economics Education and Research Consortium (EERC), the National
University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,” and the newly-born Kyiv School of
Economics invite all interested persons from South Caucasus (Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Georgia) to apply to the only in region
international-caliber graduate program in economics, fully accredited by
the Ukrainian Ministry of Education.

The Master’s Program in Economics features a two-year English-language
curriculum taught by international faculty from the USA, Canada, UK,
Germany, and other countries. The first year of study covers
microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and advanced mathematics.
The second year consists of applied elective courses such as
international finance, international trade, banking, financial
economics, labor economics, industrial organizations, game theory, etc.
as well as a master’s thesis on a topic related to a transition economy.
Students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia study at the program
thanks to financial support provided by the Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

Why are we distinguished? Because we offer:

ž Western style economics education
ž Concentrations in Finance, Strategy, Consumer Behaviour, Modern Theory
of Industry, and Economic Theory
ž Strong research and analytical skills applicable in business and
government
ž Assistance securing internships in international organizations,
multinational corporations, and the Ukrainian government
ž Excellent opportunities for job placement or admission to
international PhD programs
ž Financial assistance in the form of tuition waivers, scholarships,
dormitory housing, and monthly stipends for first-year students
ž Free access to Internet, e-mail, computer facilities, library, and
western textbooks.

Application deadline: June 25, 2004.

NaUKMA
vul. Voloska 10, office 406, Kyiv 04070, Ukraine
Tel.: (38-044) 239-2494, Fax: (38-044) 239-2490
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)

Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:

***********************************************************************
CENN is a moderated mailing list created by Caucasus Environmental
NGO Network (CENN) to maintain and encorage e-mail discussions on
environmental issues in the Caucasus region and abroad.
By sending the letter on address [email protected] all subscribers will
receive it. To unsubscribe, send the message <UNSUBSCRIBE CENN> to
[email protected] The message subject is irrelevant and can be left
blank.

For help, contact the list manager: [email protected]

Editorial policy: CENN both solicits and accepts submissions for
environmental information to the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network.
Although, CENN retains the right to edit all materials both for
content and length. The information provided through CENN does
not necessarily represent the opinion of SDC and CENN.

CENN, on behalf of the Caucasus Environmental NGOs, would like to
express gratitude to the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
(SDC) for provision of financial support for regional environmental
networking program.

For more information about the program, please visit CENN web-page:

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

A1 Plus | 18:43:28 | 12-03-2004 | Social |

MISERY IS ENVIRONMENT’S BITTER ENEMY

Armenian Environment Minister Vardan Aivazyan is convinced the main cause of
many environmental problems is that the republic population lives in
poverty.

The other day, walking along the park he found almost all trees cut there.
As it became clear later, the trees were cut by nearby houses tenants for
heating their homes, the minister said.

—

Russian embassy in Georgia denies Moscow sending extra troops to Ajaria

RIA news agency, Moscow
12 Mar 04

TBILISI

The Russian embassy to Georgia has denied Georgian media reports that
an additional contingent of Russian servicemen is being sent to Ajaria
(one of Georgia’s autonomous republics).

“This is a routine rotation which the Georgian leadership, Foreign
Ministry and Defence Ministry were informed of in advance,” the
embassy’s press service told Novosti-Gruziya agency [the Georgian
service of RIA news agency].

A routine replacement of servicemen at the 12th Russian military base
in Ajaria is taking place at the moment, the embassy explained.

According to the diplomatic mission, 78 servicemen from the base at
Gyumri (in Armenia) arrived at the base on 12 March, and another 44
servicemen will arrive there over the next few days. An equivalent
number of servicemen are to leave the base during the
rotation. Altogether 188 servicemen will be replaced during the
rotation, the embassy added.

“All the servicemen arriving at the 12th Russian base in Ajaria have
Georgian visas, the lists with their names have been submitted to the
appropriate Georgian authorities,” the press service stressed.

The embassy recalled that this is not the first time such reports have
appeared in the Georgian media of late. “The embassy asks all
journalists to be precise in their reporting. We are willing to answer
any questions,” was the assurance from the press service.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenian deputy foreign minister, US official discuss Karabakh settlement

Mediamax news agency
12 Mar 04

YEREVAN

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Ruben Shugaryan and the director of
the Office of Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs [part of the Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs] of the US Department of State, John
Fox, discussed the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem in
Yerevan today.

The press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Mediamax news
agency today that Shugaryan and Fox also exchanged opinions on the
situation in the South Caucasus and discussed Armenian-American
relations.
From: Baghdasarian

Azeris deny NATO conference venue changed over Armenian officer’s killing

Ekspress, Baku
12 Mar 04

The venue for the second planning conference of the Cooperative Best
Effort – 2004 military exercises, which will be held in Azerbaijan
within the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme this
September, has been changed. The NATO headquarters said in a press
release yesterday that officers from partner countries would meet in
Kiev this time. The NATO leadership links this change to “technical
issues”. We should remind you that the conference was expected to be
held in Baku at the end of this month.

[Passage omitted: NATO official has commented on the issue to Mediamax
news agency]

“The fact that NATO’s second conference is to be held not in Baku, but
in another country has nothing to do with Armenia,” the head of the
press service of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, Ramiz Malikov, has
told Ekspress newspaper. According to him, this decision was made
before the Armenian officer’s murder in Budapest and this change has
nothing to do with Yerevan’s groundless accusations: “Since the
Cooperative Best Effort – 2005 exercises will be held in Ukraine next
year, according to general rules, the planning conference of this
year’s exercises should have been held precisely in that country, and
this has happened. I do not see any problems here,” Malikov said.

He also said that the second planning conference was earlier planned
in Ukraine: “Previous information about this was incorrect”.

We should remind you that a representative of NATO’s South-West
command, Turkish Navy Capt Olcay Uyar, has said that the March
conference will be held in Baku.

But after the aforesaid Budapest incident, Armenia refused to send its
servicemen to Baku under the pretext that the implementation of
military programmes in Azerbaijan is “dangerous”.

Leadership failing to prepare Armenian people for war – newspaper

Golos Armenii, Yerevan
11 Mar 04

The Armenian army is ready for war, but the people are not, according
to an article in an independent Armenian newspaper. Society trusts
neither the authorities nor the opposition and will not want to fight
for them, the article said. Azerbaijan, and as a result Armenia, have
entered the final pre-war period, a time of intensive propaganda to
mobilize support for war. The following is the text of Arsen
Yalanuzyan’s report in Armenian newspaper Golos Armenii on 11 March
headlined “Imperatives of the threatening period”; subheadings
inserted editorially:

The despicable killing of an Armenian officer in Budapest has marked
Azerbaijan’s entry into a “threatening period”: this is what the final
pre-war stage of a period of peace is called. The characteristic of
that period is intensive military and political propaganda that
mobilizes a country’s citizens to give unconditional support to the
future actions of their own armed forces and the neutralization of
pacifist tendencies and speeches by the population. The official
propaganda of Azerbaijan has practically achieved this objective and
now that the scum who killed Gurgen Markaryan has become a hero, there
is and will be no return to constructiveness in Azerbaijani
society. So this means that we also have automatically entered this
period. This is a fact that must not be ignored.

People not ready for war

Are we ready for war? The military and political leadership of our
country announces confidently: “Our army is ready to carry out all the
objectives it is set.” Any person who is aware of the rate and quality
of the development of our army may have no doubts – the army will do
its job. But the possible war will be a war not of the armies but of
the peoples – Armenian and Azerbaijani. And either our nation or
Azerbaijan will gain victory in that war. That victory will define
their fortunes for the foreseeable future.

The authorities of Azerbaijan along with the army are preparing their
nation for that fateful war. The result is obvious. But how are our
people preparing for the war? To be more accurate – have our
authorities set this objective at all?

War a taboo subject

We have the impression that a taboo has been set in our society on the
word “war”. Ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan mainly promoted this. His
statement about the coming to power of the “party of war ” gave the
“hawks” a complex, as any mention of war may be understood as
confirmation of the ex-president’s “prophecies”. Meanwhile, mentioning
the need for a new war to protect the achievements of the national
liberation fight of 1988-94 may not be reprehensible, if it is these
very achievements that are the price of the offered peace. The point
is – who will lead the people (not the army!) to war? Who will make
the address to the nation after a decade of horrible lawlessness, as a
result of which the people lost faith in the authorities?

At that time, at the beginning of the 90s, we won thanks to the cream
of our nation – those volunteer lads who for ideals, which were later
announced by the president to be a “false category”, were ready to
fight and to die. In addition, at that time society had just entered
the path of “democratic development” and national values were
considered something usual. And the Armenian Pan-National Movement
[APNM] as a party (not its separate patriot-members) as the holder of
the leading anational ideology, had nothing to do with that victory,
because it hated that victory as a matter of principle from the very
beginning. Otherwise we would not have such a precedent, unthinkable
in our long history, when not just any person but the president of the
country denies the ideals of the Armenian nation. He denies the reason
and pledge of victory, the laurels of which are being ascribed to him
personally today. He denies the blood of thousands of patriots to whom
we and our future generations are eternally indebted!

And what do we have today? Since the APNM came to power, there has
been no patriotic training in schools and today’s society has been
much poisoned with liberalism, self-interest and cosmopolitanism, but
there is not even a sign about relative social justice. From this
point of view it is not the laurels of previous victories that belong
to Ter-Petrosyan but the seeds of future defeats! As for today’s
president, till now he has not said whether he agrees with
Ter-Petrosyan or not in the matter of national ideology. So who will
prepare society for war and how?

Society trusts neither authorities nor opposition

Let us look truth in the eye: a major part of our population does not
trust the president or government, opposition and clergy. We live
during a threatening time! What are those who have power doing at this
responsible moment to gain the people’s trust?

Contrary to the mood of society, the government is continuing to
introduce a system of social cards. And nobody says: gentlemen, even
if you are right a thousand times, the trust of the people is more
important. Can it be excluded that the sponsors across the ocean of
such programmes are managing to divide our nation from the authorities
precisely at this threatening period? Specialists in psychological
warfare call this method “enlivening religious prejudices in the midst
of the enemy”. The opposition is calling for revolution, again in the
threatening period. And in the instructions of psychological warfare
of all our enemies (not only Azerbaijan!) this is called something
slightly different: “to rouse the civilian population and servicemen
of the enemy to anti-public actions that destabilize the normal
everyday life of society and the army”.

Luxurious private residences and casinos are being built for everyone
to see, costly office cars are bought at the expense of the people,
and nobody is listening to the press when they say “Enough!”. But
tomorrow people will not want to fight for their masters! And our
enemies will register the latest successfully fulfilled objective in
the psychological war: “to stir up contradictions between specific
social groups and strata of society of the enemy country”. This is
how our temporal and religious leaders are preparing our society for
war! As for our nation, it will move mountains, if it knows for what
end and has a just, Armenian leader! The people know what to fight
for. The issue remains of a leader who understands that social justice
today is the most important thing, as justice and trust are the
imperatives of the threatening time.

CIS SECURITY CHIEF CALLS FOR GLOBAL UNITY AGAINST TERRORISM

Interfax-AVN military news agency web site
12 Mar 04

MOSCOW

The Thursday (11 March) blasts in Madrid, the 11 September terrorist
attack in New York and terrorist sallies in Asia are links in one
chain, Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bordyuzha said on Friday.

“International terrorism is readjusting itself dramatically and is
ready to deliver strike after strike in any region of the globe. In
order to confront this evil, the global community must pool efforts
and create an atmosphere of rejection of terrorism in any form or
manifestation,” Bordyuzha told Interfax-Military News Agency. The CSTO
has repeatedly called for nations and international organizations to
pool their efforts in order to rebuff terrorism and extremism, he
said. “We confirm the CSTO’s readiness to continue making constructive
contributions to combating terrorism,” Bordyuzha stressed.

The CSTO brings together Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Armenia and Tajikistan.

A1 Plus | 20:56:32 | 12-03-2004 | Social |

MANASARYAN RELEASED FROM DETENTION

Armenian National Assembly member Tatul Manasaryan, who had been arrested in
January in the U.S., is already released from custody, Azatutyun radio
station reported Friday quoting Armenian Foreign Ministry Press Secretary
Hamlet Gasparyan.

Manasaryan has been charged with attempt of abduction of his child living
with his former wife in the U.S.A. Charge against him was dropped yesterday
at the court session.

The U.S. Ambassador to Armenian John Ordway received today MP’s relatives
and said them Manasaryan is still under supervision of the U.S. law because
of some problems linked to migration regime.

However, Manasaryan’s relatives said radio station he was in hospital
because of health problems.

—

ArmeniaNow.com, 12 March 2004

Cultural Theft: Despite laws, artists have little control over piracy and
use of their work

By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow arts reporter

Singers Aramo and Emma Petrosyan sold their apartment to produce their first
compact disc recording.

The husband and wife duo are among the most popular contemporary singers in
Armenia and there is demand for their art. But:

“Up to now, we have made only small profits from sales,” Aramo says.

The reason is not a lack of sales. It is, rather, a loss of control over
their product, due mostly to unenforced copyright laws.

Even though the singers hold copyright to their material, counterfeit copies
of the cds are pirated and sold at a fraction of the cost of the original
recording.

“People buy these poor-quality cds without even paying attention to the fact
that the cover is just a piece of black-and-white paper copied from the
original cover,” Emma Petrosyan says. “Meanwhile, Aramo spent several nights
with a designer sitting in front of a computer takings pains and troubles,
thinking and selecting between different colors, shades and hues.

“We dedicate our lives to every cd while thieves earn more than we by doing
nothing.”

Aramo and Emma are not alone in their disgust over the lack of protection of
intellectual property in Armenia and throughout the former Soviet Republics.
Research shows their anger is justified.

Foreign experts estimate that in 2002, piracy of recordings in Armenia
amounted to about $5 million.

Armen Azizyan, president of the Agency for Intellectual Property of Armenia
says 85 to 90 percent of audio, video and computer recordings sold in
Armenia are counterfeit copies.

Producer Grigor Nazaryan says a performer can expect to lose $15,000-20,000
from having a recording pirated. For that reason, local artists rely on
foreign sales to supplement the loses.

“Within recent years ‘pirates’ have become so strong and powerful that they
even begun printing high-quality covers and only producers can differentiate
the fake production from the original by the quality of the cd,” says
Nazaryan.

And the pirating network is well connected.

Rock band “Oascen Ham” produced a cd in France . But before it was even on
the market there, band leader Vahagn Papayan found a pirated copy for sale
in Yerevan .

Papayan asked the seller where he got the cd. “He said to me ‘Do you think
I’m so stupid to tell you where I got it from? Take it or leave it’.”

Artists are convinced their work is victimized by mafia-controlled sources,
who are so powerful to avoid prosecution.

Yerevan lawyer Artur Varderesyan says the Ministry of Internal Affairs will
soon create a special project for dealing with the piracy problem. (For a
few years the government has been promising such intervention, however,
little has been done to realize anti-piracy enforcement.)

A London-based organization combats piracy in Russia, however, “Armenia is
not a threat to the outer world since Armenian pirate production, as a rule,
is not exported and is sold in the inside market. That proves the fact that
mostly it is the Armenian performers and authors who suffer from piracy,”
Azizyan says.

It is not, though, just the copyright thieves who profit from current
conditions. Television and radio companies and concert promoters use
artists’ material at will and typically without paying royalties.

The Constitution of Armenia includes a law ” On Copyright and Related
Rights”. During Soviet times, Moscow ‘s All-Union organization enforced
copyright laws. In 1994 the task was undertaken by the National Agency on
Copyright. Since 2001, the non governmental organization, Hayheghinak, has
monitored copyright matters in cooperation with the Agency for Intellectual
Property.

Senior specialist at Hayheghinak, Sona Vardanyan, says Armenian authors and
singers are unaware of their rights and acting laws.

“If they were aware, then before recording a song they would sign a contract
with the recording studio so that later they don’t illegally collect their
works in bad quality collections,” she says. “In many cases their songs are
used in commercials and they don’t demand a fee either because of not
knowing the law or because of acting on a ‘friendly’ relationship.”

Composer and singer Ruben Hakhverdyan is aware of artists’ rights, but is
disillusioned with hopes of seeing any enforcement.

“How can I protect my copyrights? Whoever opens his eyes starts singing my
songs and I don’t get a penny from it. I don’t give a damn about such
copyrights and such a country,” says Hakhverdyan angrily.

Unlike Hakhverdyan, songwriter Vahan Andreasyan is trying to protect his
rights through law, but according to him the laws of the jungle apply more
than laws of justice.

“It’s been three times that I tired to protect my rights in court but what’s
the good of it? The weaker one is always guilty,” says Andreasyan.

Many artists working in Armenian pop music genre, in particular Andreasyan,
the author of lyrics for Artur Grigoryan’s songs, tried to get his fee
through the legal system. According to him during 10 to 15 concerts a month
at the State Theatre of Song there are at least three or four songs with his
lyrics, but it’s been 15 years and Andreasyan hasn’t received any payment.

“Before, there was no law, so we didn’t demand anything. But now that we
have these market relations, others started making money on my work, so I
demanded my share since I don’t know how to feed my family,” Andreasyan
says.

Andreasyan’s claim against the Theatre of Song ended in a decision in favor
of the Theatre. Its director, Artur Grigoryan, presented a letter from the
Minister of Culture, Youth Issues and Sport stating that most of the monthly
concerts at State Theatre of Song were charitable.

“Without checking, the judge trusted and believed that no concert tickets
have been sold and for my works that have been heard there for eight years I
was paid 6000 drams (about $10),” says Andreasyan shrugging his shoulders.

Hayheghinak director Susanna Nersisyan says its not easy, even with a law in
place, to convince TV and radio companies to pay royalties.

By law, TV and radio stations are obliged to pay two percent of their
monthly profit as royalties for material used.

According to the head of Radio Van company Shushanik Arevshatyan, two
percent is too much for the company to pay.

“We have agreement with Hayheghinak to pay 30,000 drams (about $50) monthly
within several months with presenting a list of songs and authors played
during a month,” says Arevshatyan.

TV companies are also not paying the required amount; paying instead about
$90 a month for materials.

“However, next year we’re planning to increase that sum and to take the
legal two percent with the help of which we’ll be able to pay the authors
fairly,” says Nersisyan.

Hayheghinak divides the money taken from different TV/radio companies
according to the presented list. They also take into account frequency and
length of songs. Also, due to some mathematical actions approved by law, the
sum gets divided among the authors.

“If some refuse to present a list of songs broadcasted by them, then we have
no choice but to follow TV or radio broadcasts in order to write down the
names of songs and authors,” adds Nersisyan.

Tired of copyright violations composer Hasmik Manaseryan complains that she
gets nothing in return for so many of her songs played. She recalled that
only once “three years ago I was called and told that as composer I have to
receive 800 drams ($1.5) while during Soviet years I would make a lot of
money.”

Composer Hasmik Manaseryan says she gets nothing for her work. However, she
is not so upset with the fact that she does not get her fees as with the
fact that her works are played in a distorted way.

“So often I hear my songs performed by this or that ungifted singer, who
doesn’t even know what and whose song he or she is singing,” says
Manaseryan. “For instance, one singer performs the song ‘Who Do I Give My
Flowers To?’ in a terribly changed manner, let alone the fact that in the
video, for some unknown reason someone gets killed, somebody else calls
ambulance” In a word the song is spoiled and the video does not correspond
to it.”

Besides singers, film producers are also unhappy with current conditons.

Movie director Albert Lazarian points out with anger that on December 7
last year his movies were shown eight times on Armenian TV channels, and he
cannot tell the number during other days.

“My movie ‘Merry Bus’ is right now being sold in Germany , the US , Greece ,
without any right on that. But I am the owner of that movie. You trouble
yourself over it, shoot a movie and then someone you don’t know makes money
on it. It’s impossible to prevent that piracy,” says director Albert
Lazarian.

The same displeasure is expressed by movie director Ruben Gevorgyan
according to whom an artist gets terribly discouraged and desperate when
something created from his blood, his life and his soul is being negligently
shown, no matter if it’s appropriate or not. “And we find out about it not
in case of a fee, but in case when there isn’t any.”

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