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Last edited on May 3, 2000
Corrections to the IWPR's "Massacres Still Haunt Azerbaijan's Armenians"
Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 01:58:30 -0700 (PDT)
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HL LETTERS
(original article which has been already corrected appears in the end of the letter)
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\
Sir,
IWPR bulletin's are usually well-written, on the point and
succinct. However, in the latest Issue 29 for April 28, 2000, the article
"Massacres Still Haunt Azerbaijan's Armenians" makes and perpetuates
several critical and gross mistakes. For example, in just one short
(!) paragraph, we have three groundless and false claims:
1) From the article we learn that "hundreds of Armenians were massacred in
Sumgait [in 1988]" This was never even claimed by Armenian propaganda at
the height of the Armenia-Azerbaijan war! The official investigation
proved a total of 32 people killed, from which 6 were Azerbaijani, and 26
Armenian. Reliable Armenian sources confirm these figures, such as a book
published in Yerevan in September 1989. It was a transcript of the
press-conference organized by the Armenian "Gushamatian" society and
Armenian Union of Journalists on September 23rd in Yerevan. It is also
important to note that the head of the Sumgait mob was...Armenian, Edik
Grigoryan, who was identified by his Armenian victims, and sentenced to
imprisonment. However, he has then been transferred to a prison somewhere
in Russia, and all traces perished.
2) The author goes on to claim that "Two years later, [in 1990] 150 died
when rampaging mobs took to the streets of Baku." Armenia's own sources
estimate the toll at upper 60's -- where is more than twice higher 150
figure from?
3) "10,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan." First of all, there are much
more Armenians living in Azerbaijan. Last time one bothered to check,
Karabakh region along with other currently occupied by Armenia districts
of Azerbaijan are exactly that -- legally, historically and politically
part of Azerbaijan. Throughout these regions, there are around 80,000
Armenians living, although lower and higher estimates exist as well.
However, even if we discount the occupied territories as yet another
unintentional mistake of the author, I feel obliged to point out that the
Armenian population in Baku and some other parts of northern Azerbaijan,
ranges from 20,000 to 30,000. By the way, both figures are courtesy of the
US Department of State, as well as many frequently quoted Western
diplomats. So why did the the author choose to quote the lowest figure?
In addition, US Department of State, to its honor, year-after-year says
the following: "[s]ome persons of mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani descent
continue to occupy government positions." I should add that those
positions involve high level posts, and even comprise opposition members.
Now, can same be said about the situation with Azerbaijanis in
Armenia? After all, in late 1980's, there were more than 200,000
Azerbaijanis in Armenia. The answer is no, since not a single one
remains. In fact, even all Muslim Kurds were expelled -- all 20,000 of
whom came to Azerbaijan for refuge.
Yet, most importantly, did the author oblige to tell about the much higher
number of casualties on the other side? The fact that first refugees were
Azerbaijanis from Armenia? That the first two victims of the renewed
violence were two Azerbaijani youths, 16 and 23 year-olds? What about
terrible massacres at such Armenian towns as Gugark, Spitak, Stepanavan,
Masis and others, where dozens of innocent Azerbaijani civilians were
brutally murdered? I include below official data on the ethnic Azerbaijani
civilian casualties of pogroms and massacres in Armenia:
2 people killed by doctors in hospital
3 people died because of no medical assistance given
killed in the course of tortures 35 people
died from heavy beating 41 person
burned alive 11 people
after torturing 2 people had their heads cut off
killed and burned 4 people
1 persona hanged
drowned 3 people
7 people run over by cars
killed from gunshots 16 people
frozen in mountains, while fleeing for safety, 49 people
kidnapped and disappeared 8 people
killed by electricity 1 person
killed during traffic and other accidents 22 people
1 person suicide
died from heart attack as a result of nervous breakdown 10 people,
including one pregnant woman
Total killed 216 people, including 57 women, 5 babies and 18 children of
different ages in this November 1988 terrorist action.
Finally, it the remaining parts of article regarding injustices with job,
housing and military service, it should be emphasized that these are known
to each and every Azerbaijani, regardless of nationality. These cases are
too long to bring them up here, although it is very easy to prove.
Please, in future, be more careful when printing such overtly provocative
and false reports. It would be even better if you print necessary
corrections in your next issue.
With regards,
Adil Baguirov
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Massacres Still Haunt Azerbaijan's Armenians
(corrected present version. Read online
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl5?archive/cau/cau_200004_29_01_eng.txt).
Just a decade after bloody pogroms in the streets of Baku, Armenians resident in
Azerbaijan live in an atmosphere of fear and discrimination.
By Alena Myasnikova in Baku
Tamara B. lives with the enemy. An ethnic Armenian, she was born in Baku, married a
Russian and has two adult children who both live in the Azerbaijani capital. In 1990, when
armed gangs launched a pogrom against local Armenians, the family fled to Moscow.
They returned six months later. Baku is the only home they know.
Although she is past retirement age, Tamara doesn't get a pension. She has never
applied for one. "I don't want to make a fuss," she says. "If I go and apply for a pension
they'll ask for my passport, which proves that I'm an Armenian. Who knows what
problems that could mean for me and my family?"
Tamara's husband was a highly placed Communist Party official during the Soviet era and
the family lives in a special apartment block built for the nomenclature. The neighbours
know of her nationality but, says Tamara, "they have never behaved badly towards me or
the children and we still live on good terms."
Like most of the estimated 30,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan, Tamara keeps a low
profile. Memories of the recent pogroms are still fresh: in 1988, 26 Armenians were
massacred in Sumgait (previous edition claimed hundreds), on the Caspian Sea, during
two days of bloodshed. Two years later, at least 15 (corrected from 150 in the previous
edition) died when rampaging mobs took to the streets of Baku.
Recently, the Azerbaijani president, Heidar Aliev, personally guaranteed the safety of all
Armenians living in the former Soviet republic. He pledged that any state bureaucrats
caught discriminating on the basis of nationality would be severely punished.
But, with 98 per cent of their community consisting of women, most Armenians remain
unconvinced. They reason that, if the government is unable to protect the rights of its own
people, there can be little hope for representatives of ethnic minorities.
Discrimination is certainly widespread and often Armenians are forced to fight bitterly for
their rights. One Armenian, Asya Khydyrova, recently won a court battle over her claims
to a Baku apartment.
In 1992, Khydyrova, who was married to an Azerbaijani, took her three children to visit
relatives in Kislovodsk. She returned a month later to discover that her husband had not
only managed to process a divorce but had also removed her name and those of her
children from the flat registration documents. To add insult to injury, he had moved his
new fiance into the property.
Supported by the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly and the Human Rights Centre of
Azerbaijan, Khydyrova took the case to court. She and her children were eventually
awarded half of the living space, which they are now trying to exchange for alternative
accommodation. This is a rare case of an Armenian national scoring a victory - be it a
modest one - over the system.
Often, Armenians are forced to disguise their identities for fear of discrimination. Yana and
Roman Arutyunova were orphaned in 1990. With nowhere else to go, they stayed in Baku
where they were brought up by neighbours. Yana, then 17, refused to let her
eight-year-old brother go to school because she was afraid he would be bullied.
This year, Roman was called up for military service and Yana paid $250 for a passport
which gave him a Russian surname and Russian nationality. She was helped by an old
friend of the family who had "good connections".
Yana explains, "Maybe the officers would have treated him normally, but I don't know how
he would have got on with the other soldiers who belong to refugee families from the
occupied territories."
Now Yana dreams of changing her own passport and getting a new surname and a new
nationality. She says the situation is uncertain. "I'm afraid. There are a lot of people in
Baku who know that my brother and I are Armenians, and they've helped us and still help
us. But who knows what tomorrow will bring?"
Almost all Armenians in Azerbaijan live in the hope that the situation will change for the
better. Their hopes have been further fuelled by recent peace talks between the presidents
of the two warring countries.
Few, however, have the option of finding sanctuary in Armenia. There they are generally
viewed with distrust and suspicion - in fact, one Azerbaijani journalist who recently visited
Yerevan was astonished to hear the comment, "They [the Armenians in Azerbaijan] don't
have the right to be called Armenians!"
But the number of Armenians prepared to fight for their rights as citizens of Azerbaijan is
growing from year to year. To a large extent this has been made possible by the work
carried out by non-governmental organisations which have called for people to stand up for
their rights and join forces to fight discrimination.
Alena Myasnikova is a correspondent for Monitor Magazine in Baku.
p.s. the errors were explained as the mistakes of not author but that of editor.
Copyright IWPR www.iwpr.net
Referred from Habarlar-L
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DISMISSES PREMIER, DEFENSE MINISTER...
Robert Kocharian on 2 May signed decrees dismissing Prime
Minister Aram Sargsian and Defense Minister Vagharshak
Harutiunian and appointing Chief of Staff Mikael Harutiunian
(no relation to Vagharshak) to replace the latter, Noyan
Tapan reported. In a statement broadcast on Armenian
Television, Kocharian said he was constrained to dismiss the
premier in order to end a situation that threatens to
"shatter the foundations of our statehood." Kocharian said
that despite all his efforts, the president and government
proved unable to work as a team serving the same goal. He
said "political intrigues" between ministers "have become a
way of life, while economic and other problems are
snowballing to become a serious challenge to the country." He
said a continuation of the status quo could lead to the
collapse of the army. Kocharian pledged to cooperate with the
parliament and begin consultations with deputies on a new
government.
Copyright RFE/RL
The Wall Street Journal Europe, 28 April 2000
Who's Poisoning Armenia's Body Politic?
By Vladimir Socor
Mr. Socor is a senior analyst of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation.
Armenia's parliamentary majority, subservient to the military-backed
government of Prime Minister Aram Sarkisian, moved this week to impeach
President Robert Kocharian. The parliamentary move means that dominant
elements in the government and their military allies are escalating the
power struggle against an already embattled president. At stake in that
rivalry is not only the political power in Armenia but also the country's
external orientation. The presidential camp seeks to move from unilateral
reliance on Russia to a more balanced course, one entailing improved
relations with the West and accommodation with Armenia's pro-Western
neighbors, Azerbaijan and Turkey, by laying historic conflicts to rest. Mr.
Kocharian's opponents include those who would reverse these presidential
initiatives on every front.
The latest contest over power and policy in Yerevan is unfolding against a
blood-stained backdrop. Armenia suffers from a chronic problem of internal
terrorism, and has barely begun to face up to that problem. Political
authority and legitimacy in the country virtually collapsed on Oct. 27,
1999 when gunmen burst into the hall of parliament and murdered Prime
Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, parliament chairman Karen Demirchian and six
other senior officials. Mr. Sarkisian was the country's undisputed civilian
and military strongman; Mr. Demirchian, a veteran Armenian Communist
leader, had ridden a wave of Soviet nostalgia to achieve unprecedented
personal popularity in post-Soviet Armenia. With the death of Vazgen
Sarkisian, the prime ministership passed to his younger brother, Aram. The
leadership of Mr. Demirchian's party passed to his son. With that, Armenia
became the first post-Soviet country to move toward hereditary succession
of power -- a succession guaranteed in this instance by pro-Sarkisian and
pro-Moscow army generals. Thus ruled by strongmen and clans, not laws, the
impoverished country has become hostage to violence-prone groups acting
within and on the fringes of the state apparatus.
Sadly, the Oct. 27 parliament carnage was nothing new in Armenia. On the
contrary, it capped a series of high-profile terrorist murders which have
been linked to the shadow economy and/or political intrigues. Senior
officials assassinated in the last few years include: the state security
committee chief; the prosecutor general; the deputy defense minister; the
deputy minister of internal affairs; the mayor of Yerevan; the
director-general of railroads; and the president of the chamber of industry
and trade -- to mention only the most notorious cases.
Those and other murders and attempted murders have never been seriously
investigated, let alone resolved. The perpetrating groups are enmeshed with
the military, and security and law-enforcement apparatus and can influence
the judiciary. Despite their rivalries, such groups share an overriding
interest in not spilling the beans on each other and in perpetuating their
turf- and spoils-sharing arrangements. Those arrangements can at times
become unstable, as the periodic assassinations suggest. Yet on the whole
the system has proven self-regulating, as its continuity seems to indicate.
By contrast, the Oct. 27 bloodletting seems to have been the work of
self-styled social rebels, using terror as a form of political action.
Grabbing a parliamentary microphone, the assassins screamed out slogans
about their "patriotic deed" and ultimate "sacrifice for the nation."
Beyond that, their motives and their sponsors, if any, remain obscure. But
the president's opponents in the government and military authorities in
charge of the investigation are trying hard to implicate presidential aides
in the crime and, through them, to implicate or at least blackmail Mr.
Kocharian.
This year the internecine bloodletting spread to Karabakh, the mainly
Armenian-populated region that seceded from Azerbaijan several years ago in
the hope of uniting with Armenia. On March 22, gunmen shot and wounded
Arkady Gukasian, president of the unrecognized Karabakh republic.
Authorities in Karabakh promptly detained the gunmen and the alleged
masterminds -- an unprecedented display of effectiveness in investigating
internal terrorism. Charged as organizers of the assault are the brothers
Samvel and Karen Babaian, who were until recently the defense minister and
the internal affairs minister, respectively, of Karabakh. No evidence
against the Babaians has been produced; the only certain fact is that they
are political and business rivals of Karabakh's present top leaders.
In Yerevan, all political forces strongly condemned the Oct. 27 and March
22 assaults. But very few Armenian officials or politicians proved capable
of pronouncing the uncomfortable truth. It was left to politician Paruir
Hairikian, a veteran of the national-democratic movement in Soviet Armenia
and of the Gulag, to note that "terrorism has become an integral part of
our daily life."
The practice of politically rationalized violence by a minority and its
public mythologization stem from historic roots. A subculture of terrorism
developed among Armenians in the Ottoman and the Russian empires during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a tragic cycle of atrocity,
counter-atrocity and constant "revenge" pitted Armenians against Turks.
Armenian armed groups also turned on each other in their underground
operations, then and later. They drew on several external models: that of
the Balkan guerrilla, West European anarchism, Russian revolutionary
terrorism, Middle Eastern skullduggery from Syria and Lebanon -- where the
anti-Turkish, terrorist Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)
was based during the 1970s and 1980s -- and ultimately the influence of the
USSR's KGB, which used and spawned groups of that type.
Many in Armenia and the diaspora have been shocked and aggrieved by the
latest acts of internal terrorism. Yet, those acts germinated in an
atmosphere that tends to condone terrorism -- as long as it targets the
perceived enemies of the nation. Some nationalist circles are prone to
defending and even drumming up public support for ASALA militants or for
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) through such devices as mass collection
of signatures or demonstrations in downtown Yerevan. The Armenian leaders,
political parties and opinion makers looked on passively at such public
activities even in recent months. The legacy of the old terrorist
subculture, lingering both within and outside the official establishment,
poisons the body politic, ultimately victimizing all citizens in one way or
another. Until Armenians emphatically cast that historic legacy aside, it
will remain a major obstacle to the democratic and economic development of
the modern Armenian state.
Referred from Habarlar-L
Armenia's Political Crisis
YEREVAN, May 3, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Armenia has been in
political turmoil since gunmen burst into the parliament building in
Yerevan just over six months ago, killing prime minister Vazgen
Sarkisian and seven other parliamentarians.
Following is a chronology of events.
October 1999
- 27: Four gunmen storm the Armenian parliament, spraying the chamber
with bullets. Prime minister Vazgen Sarkisian, speaker Karen Demirchian
and six others are killed. Eighteen suspects are arrested in the days
following the attack.
- 28: Interior Minister Suren Abramian resigns after the defense
ministry deplores the "total absence of security."
November
- 1: Security minister Sergei Sarkisian resigns.
- 3: Aram Sarkisian, younger brother of the murdered premier and a
political unknown, is named as the country's new prime minister.
- 10: Aram Sarkisian warns the armed forces to keep out of politics.
- 13: President Robert Kocharian names three new ministers, including
an interior minister and national security minister.
January 2000
- 12: Military prosecutor Gaguik Djaanguirian says that two senior
officials, whom he does not name, will be arrested in connection with
the killings which, he charges, were part of an attempted coup.
March
- 15: Kocharian warns against "politicisation of the army."
- 16: Kocharian dismisses two deputy defense ministers and names four
new deputy ministers.
- 17: Amid further signs of political instability, Kocharian dismisses
the deputy interior minister and replaces him with a former police
official.
April
- 25: Kocharian bars Djaanguirian from appearing in parliament to
report on the progress of the inquiry into the October 27 killings.
Djaanguirian resigns in protest, saying he can "no longer tolerate
political interference from Kocharian in the investigation of the
attempted coup d'etat."
Deputies of the majority Unity and Stability factions, which between
them hold 80 seats in the 126-seat parliament, vote to impeach Kocharian
"for high treason or another grave crime."
- 26: Kocharian rejects Djaanguirian's resignation.
- 27: Djaanguirian says he will refuse to pursue the inquiry.
May
- 2: Kocharian dismisses prime minister Sarkisian and Defense Minister
Vagarshak Arutunian, thereby automatically dissolving the government.
Edited on April 30, 2000
Foreign Ministry reports
Baku. 28.04.2000. /AzadInform/. The Azeri Foreign minister Vilayet Guliyev
sojourning in Washington with a business visit held a number of meetings at the
US legislative and executive powers.
On April 27 V. Guliyev met at the US National Security Council with the deputy
adviser of the US President on National Security Affairs J. Stainberg. The sides
held exchange of opinion on Azeri-American relations current state as well as
further coordination and outlook of the Azeri-American cooperation.
At the same day Foreign minister met at the US State Department with the
Ambassador-Coordinator of the American aid to new independent states William
Taylor. Issues on stimulation American side's efforts on assistance to
Azerbaijan within frameworks of exclusions from the 907 section and introduction
of new exceptions to or complete liquidation of unfaithful sanction were in the
limelight.
On April 27 V. Guliyev met with the US representative in OSCE Minsk group Kerry
Kavano. The two discussed Armenian-Azeri conflict's settlement run as well as
restarting of negotiations within frameworks of the OSCE Minsk group.
The same day Foreign minister held a meeting with the US Defense minister Edward
Warner. Situation in the region, regional security on the background of the
situation on the Caucasus, Azerbaijan's duties in regard to regional and global
security, realization of the US-Azeri treaty on non-proliferation of mass
destruction weapon were the main topics of the meeting.
On April 27 the head of the Azeri External Relations Department V. Guliyev held
a number of meetings with congressmen - chairman of the Senate Committee for
Armed Forces serving, congressmen-republican from Virginia state John Warner,
congressmen-republican from Kansas state Sam Brownbag and congressmen-republican
from Nebraska Chak Hetset. The parties discussed Azerbaijan's development
forwards democracy and market economy, security in the region, Caspian energy
and silk route problem.
The Foreign minister V. Guliyev met also with the special representative of the
UN Secretary General Francis Dank. Mr. F. Dank laid stress on necessity for
additional research of situation by places for carrying on measures for
elaboration on rendering humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan.
The same day V. Guliyev held a meeting at the National Democracy Institute of
International Relations with attendance of numerous representatives of the US
state department and Congress, diplomatic corps and mass media.
Azeri foreign minister: Russia stepping up efforts to resolve Karabakh conflict
New York, 26th April: "Azerbaijan is against the proliferation
of nuclear arms. This issue is fundamental for Azerbaijan as
one of our neighbouring states is a nuclear power," Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev, who is in New York at a UN
conference to implement the Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation
Treaty, has told Turan news agency in an exclusive interview.
Vilayat Guliyev said that during a meeting with Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov the sides discussed issues of bilateral
relations, as well as the situation with the settlement of the
[Nagornyy] Karabakh conflict.
"Azerbaijan wants Russia to clarify its position on the matter
and to keep to it consistently," Guliyev said. He said that
Russia intended to step up its activities in the settlement
issue.
During the meeting Igor Ivanov told the Azerbaijani foreign
minister that the Russian president planned to meet the
presidents of the three South Caucasian countries during another
summit of CIS heads of states in Moscow on 20th-21st June. The
main question at the meeting will be conflicts in the Caucasus,
including the Karabakh conflict, Ivanov said.
The Russian foreign minister also said that Moscow would like to
organize a trilateral meeting between the presidents of Russia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia. "From the conversation with Igor
Ivanov, it became clear that Russia intends to speed up its
efforts in this direction," Guliyev said, adding that Russia
supported the idea of joining a security pact in the Caucasus.
Guliyev said that the issue of the Caspian's legal status was
also discussed in the meeting with Ivanov.
Igor Ivanov invited Vilayat Guliyev to pay an official visit to
Russia on 10th-12th July this year.
Asked by Turan news agency whether it was possible to expect
fair mediation from Russia, which is a military ally of Armenia,
Vilayat Guliyev answered that this issue was indeed interesting
and worrying Azerbaijan. "This issue has become even more
topical against the background of growing military cooperation
between Russia and Armenia. Such cooperation damages the
fragile peace in the region and poses a danger. We have said
repeatedly that if Russia wants to play the role of a fair judge
in the settlement of the conflict, it should stop supporting one
of the conflicting sides. Russia told us it was ready for
cooperation with us. However, the fact that the Karabakh
conflict is still unsettled speaks of a divergence between words
and deeds," Vilayat Guliyev noted.
Asked about a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan, Vilayat Guliyev stated that the meeting had not taken
place yet. "We have met before. Due to the lack of new
proposals and ideas in the basis of the meeting, it might have a
purely protocol nature. For this reason, the issue of meeting
Oskanyan has not been clarified yet," Guliyev said.
The issue of the Caspian's status was thrashed out in a meeting
between Vilayat Guliyev and Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal
Kharrazi. The sides also broached issues pertaining to
[Azerbaijani] President Heydar Aliyev's forthcoming visit to
Iran. As for meetings with representatives of the US
government, the minister said that issues of settling the
Karabakh conflict, bilateral relations, Section 907 [of the
Freedom Support Act, banning US aid to the Azerbaijani
government] and the construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline
would be considered in those meetings.
Copyright 2000 BBC and Turan
Milli Mejlis's statement to be broad to world countries' and international organizations' notice
Baku. 28.04.2000. /AzadInform/. Today the MM convoked the next sitting. Eldar
Ibrahimov, chairman of the MM SC for Agrarian Policy Affairs acquainted deputies
with the MM statement regard to "Parliamentary elections" in the self-proclaimed
Upper Karabakh republic. The statement contains MM's protest against the
forthcoming June "elections" to the "parliament" of so-called "Upper Karabakh
republic" established on the Karabakh area of Azerbaijan. The statement says
this is the next provocation violating basic civil rights of 50 thousand
Azerbaijanians driven out from Karabakh and testifies about Armenia's
separatists intention to put obstacles on the way of peace establishment in the
region.
The statement will be broad to world countries' and international organizations'
notice through the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
[further budgetary and other issues-not included]
N. Mamedov: "R. Kocharyan's state doesn't let continue peace talks"
Baku. 28.04.2000. /AzadInform/. Head of the President's Executive Office Foreign
Contacts Department Novruz Mamedov explained delay in talks between the
presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia for the peaceful resolution of the conflict
with sociopolitical processes taking place in the aggressor-state. According to
him, tension of the domestic sociopolitical situation after 27 October events in
Armenia prevented from continuation of the meetings. N. Mamedov also stated "R.
Kocharyan's state didn't let continue peace talks". Under such conditions, when
tense relations exist between the Armenian parliament and president,
responsibility for conduction of talks and their completion is very hard. He
holds, there is a hope for proceeding peace talks between two presidents. As
soon as stability is established in Armenia, talks will be continued.
AzadInform #358(438) 28/04/2000
AZERI CITIZENS UNDER FOREIGN TV PROPAGANDA
Easy and quality broadcasting Armenian and Iranian TV
channels in the Azeri regions which abut on those occupied
by Armenia is a long-existing problem. There are regions
where the quality of broadcasting even the national
television of Azerbaijan is poor. The local population
which doesn?t have an opportunity to watch national channels
is being in informational blockade. The informational gap
is filled by Russia?s ORT and RTR TV channels, as well as
Iranian and Armenian channels, which have a powerful lever
of propaganda in their hands. All this results in an
ordinary Azeri citizen?s being without the necessary
information he/she needs. Nonetheless, the head of the
Presidential Administration?s socio-political department Ali
Hasanov said nothing was unusual and negative here.
According to him, it means that Azerbaijan is an open state
and all conditions have been set up for its citizens to
obtain information of every kind. It?s very weird but only
one Azeri TV channel is being broadcast in the regions of
Azerbaijan which remain under Armenian occupation. One
wouldn?t be wrong if said that Iranian an Armenian TV
channels are doing the daily propaganda job supposed to be
done by Azeri mass media organs, although Hasanov says the
matter is quite of technical character and all necessary
measures will be done as soon as possible to prevent the
anti-state propaganda of foreign TV channels. The head of
the Ministry of Communications? TV and radio production
association Bakhish Bakhishov said that 50-60 per cent of
Azerbaijan?s population are able to watch Armenian TV
channels, especially after Armenians installed a powerful TV
transmitter in occupied Shusha region. This could be
prevented only by installing a more powerful equipment.
Bakhishov said such an equipment cost approximately $150,000
and the association couldn?t afford it for now. As for
Iranian TV channels, due to the failure to choose the right
frequencies dating back to Soviet times, they have been
broadcast in a number of regions of Azerbaijan since. At
the same time, it?s possible to watch Azerbaijan?s state TV
channels in the regions of Iran abutting on Azerbaijan.
Asked if it was possible to watch Azeri TV channels on the
territory of Armenia, Bakhishov answered positively. The
Azeri side is trying to achieve it and already did through
the assistance of TV transmitters installed in Fuzuli,
Terter, Agdam and Gazakh regions. Meanwhile, a pretty part
of the population of Azerbaijan is still watching Armenian
TV channels.
ANS News, April 30, 2000
Armenia Prepared to Host Russian Soldiers from Georgia
YEREVAN, Apr 28, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Armenia is ready
to host Russian troops due to leave the neighboring Caucasus
republic of Georgia next summer, Yerevan military sources said
Friday.
"Discussions for the dislocation of the 102nd division are under
way," one source said.
Georgia, which has strained ties with Moscow and has expressed a
desire to join NATO, has signed an agreement underwrite Russia's
102nd division, which comprises some 2,800 soldiers, would leave
by July 1, 2001.
The question of the Russian relocation into Armenia, with which
it still enjoys warm times, was discussed in Moscow on Thursday
during a visit by Armenian Defense Minister Vagarshak
Arutyunyan.
Copyright 2000 Agence France Presse
Armenpress: Aliyev Calls for Quick Solution of Karabakh Conflict
#########################################################################
HL NOTE: Some or all of the following news articles ignore such basic
facts that:
1) Karabakh region of Azerbaijan was, is, and will remain to be a
legitimate and internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan;
2) Karabakh, and seven other regions are illegally occupied by
armed forces of the Republic of Armenia, the aggressor;
3) Puppet and self-proclaimed (Nagorno) Karabakh Republic ("NKR") is an
illegitimate and criminal entity, not recognized by any international
organization or state;
4) As of 1992, Khankandi has been restored as an official historical name
of the town, that was renamed to Stepanakert by J. Stalin in 1923
#########################################################################
YEREVAN (Armenpress)-"For securing establishment of peace in the
South Caucasus it is necessary to put an end to the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict," Azerbaijani president Heydar
Aliyev is quoted by Itar-Tass as saying during his meeting with
a delegation of Germany's Bundestag.
In Aliyev's words, his country wants peace to be established
between Armenia and Azerbaijan and all economic and trade
relations be restored. "It is necessary for the entire
Caucasus," said Aliyev, "which is one of the most important
geo-political regions in the world."
Referring to his country's relations with its immediate
neighbors, Aliyev mentioned friendly relations established with
Georgia stressing that Azerbaijan had no problems with that
country.
He also announced that Azerbaijan comes out for "sound and close
relations with great northern neighbor Russia and southern
neighbor Iran."
At the same time he reiterated his concerns over deployment of
Russian military bases in Armenia. He said that he had recently
informed Russia's Putin about his concerns in this regard.
Copyright 2000 Armenpress
Construction of Karabakh North-South Highway to Begin In May
YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)-The $3.5 million raised during last
November's telethon is enough to launch the construction of two
sections of the North-South highway in the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic. Hayastan Fund Executive Director Vahan Ter-Ghevondian
announced at a press conference on April 25 that a contract for
the construction of the Ghashbulakh-Kichan and Karmir
Shuka-Hadrut sections will be signed in late May with the
building company that won the tender. The construction of all
six sections of the highway requires a total of $25 million.
The construction of the highway's bridges will be carried out by
a separate company.
Noyan Tapan Armenian News, April 28, 2000
News referred from Habarlar-L
Edited on April 28, 2000
RUSSIAN TROOPS TO RELOCATE FROM GEORGIA TO ARMENIA?
ArmenianDefense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian, who traveled to
Moscow on 27 April with Prime Minister Sargsian, will discuss
with his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, the logistics of
relocating to Armenia the Russian forces to be withdrawn from
Russia's four military bases in Georgia, Caucasus Press
reported on 27 April quoting an unnamed Russian Defense
Ministry official. On 26 April, "Kommersant-Daily" published
what it claims is the full text of a secret protocol signed
after the Russian-Georgian talks in Moscow on 20-21 April at
which agreement was reached on the Russian withdrawal from
Georgia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 April 2000). LF
IMPRISONED KARABAKH JOURNALIST RELEASED.
Vahram Aghajanian, a journalist with the opposition newspaper "Tasnerord nahang,"
was released on 27 April and his sentence suspended for two
years, RFE/RL's Stepanakert correspondent reported.
Aghajanian was sentenced on 12 April to one year of jail on
charges of slandering the prime minister of the unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Anushavan Danielian, in an article
he published last November (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 14 April
2000). LF
Copyright RFE/RL
A S S O C I A T I O N O F T U R K I S H J E W S I N I S R A E L
A Civil-War Within WORLD WAR I,
Not Genocide!
As Israeli citizens of Turkish-Jewish origin we would like to express our
outrage at the comments of the Minister of Education Mr. Yossi Sarid drawing a
parallel between the so-called "Armenian Genocide" and the Jewish Holocaust.
The Ottoman Empire never exercised a policy of racial or religious persecution
or extermination against any nation. The Armenian claims against Turkey relate
to a period when the Armenians waged a war of independence against the Ottoman
Empire during World War I when Russian army and Allied forces were also
invading Anatolia. This war and related events of World War I that cannot be
enumerated here, led to tragic deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
With this background of events, any person, Jew or non-Jew alike, who uses the
term "Genocide" or Holocaust equating the German holocaust against Jews with
death of civilians in a terrible war situation, is guilty of ignorance OR
denial of the depth of atrocities committed by the Germans and their
collaborators against the Jews. Moreover, such ignorance also does great
injustice to the Turkish nation that did its best to save the Jewish
minorities through 500 years.
In a period spanning 500 years, starting from the times of Inquisition in
Spain, to the German holocaust in the modern age, The Turkish Nation saved
hundreds of thousands of Jews from persecution and decimation in the hands of
European nations.
The Turkish benevolence towards Jews was an official policy directed by the
Ottoman Empire Sultan, but would not have possible without the general
tolerance of the Turkish people towards minorities.
During World War II, several Turkish diplomatic officials worked to save
thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. Among these Mr. Selahattin Ulkumen was
awarded the Yad HaShem Prize for "Righteous Among the Nations" for his heroic
efforts to save Jews of Rhodes while risking his own life.
The brief statements of background above are brought to illustrate that unlike
some European Nations, the Turkish nation has not had a systematic policy of
elimination against minorities under its rule.
In view of our stand expressed above, we call on the Minister of Education,
Mr. Yossi Sarid, to retract his comments. We also call on Prime Minister Mr.
Ehud Barak, to issue a clarification to the Turkish Government that the
irresponsible comments of his minister do not represent the official policy of
the Israeli Government.
We hope that the long historical strife that has caused immeasurable suffering
to both Turkish and Armenians will be resolved by direct communication between
the two sides. We should note that a sizable Armenian population lives in
modern Turkey with full freedom.
At this opportunity we also call on the Ministry of Education to include a
special section on the history of Jews in Ottoman Empire, in history textbooks
used in Israeli schools. This is the minimum we owe to the Turkish nation
without which many of the citizens of Israel would not have been here
today.
Prof. Israel Hanukoglu,Member Mr. Moreno Margunato, Chairman,
Association of Turkish Jews in Israel
Referred from Habarlar-L
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