updated
meeting on Armenian-Azeri conflict
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 17, 2001
Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia
Istanbul, 17 February: Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said on Saturday [17
February] that the serious conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan damages
the security of the whole region.
"I think that the gathering of officials of two countries with Turkey in a
meeting can contribute seriously to the search for a solution," Cem said in
the conference on "Search for Stability in the Caucasus". Cem said that
Georgia is another important country in the Caucasus due to political,
economic issues, energy production and its transportation to the world. "We
extend full support to the economy and politics of Georgia, Georgia is a
very important country in the Caucasus in political respect. Georgia can be
a foundation stone for the stability of the Caucasus by getting more
powerful. We have defended and we continue to defend the rights of this
country in NATO regarding its economic and political difficulties. We think
that Turkish-Georgian relations, just like Turkish-Azerbaijani relations are
guarantee of the improvement of peace, development, stability and security
in the Caucasus," said Cem.
Cem said that Turkey has always concerned about the problems in the
Caucasus, adding that they see that the contacts carried out between Armenia
and Azerbaijan are reaching a certain maturity level. If the sides want to
come together with Turkey, the search for a solution will gain a new
momentum by the contribution of Turkey, said Cem. Such an approach will have
positive effect on the solution of all problems in the Caucasus, he
stressed.
Cem said that there are great opportunities for the Caucasian peoples in the
beginning of the 21st century. Noting that the Caucasus provides great
economic, political and strategic opportunities, Cem said that the two
important aims of Turkey in the beginning of 21st century is to become a
full member of EU and be a determining country in Eurasia.
Cem said that Caucasus has to use its sources and opportunities, adding that
Caucasus needs peace, stability and security for that. Cem indicated that
the Caucasus Stability Pact has been submitted to the concerned countries as
a proposal. Turkey will continue to bring peace and stability to the region,
he added.
Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1311 gmt 17 Feb 01
Heydar Aliyev Can Agree With the Plan of Building a Common State Between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh (?)
By Albert Freedman
BAKU, Feb 15, 2001 -- (Transcaspian Project) The Russian, American and
French cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh submitted it
in 1999.
This proposal of the messengers was accepted by official Yerevan and
Stepanakert, but rejected by Baku. The Last in that time has called the
plan of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh status by the principle of "common
state" as an apparent threat to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Nowadays, as asserts a number of the Azerbaijani MASS-MEDIAS, Heydar
Aliyev is bent to accept this plan and actually has hinted about it during
the meeting held recently in Paris, with the president of Armenia Robert
Cocharyan.
Official Baku while has not reacted in any way to this information of
local MASS-MEDIAS, whereas the opposition Azerbaijani politics and
majority of the independent experts interpreted this report as Aliyev's
readiness to conclude a secret union with the enemy. The supporters of
such position consider that the most important problem for the Azerbaijani
president is the constitutional handover of power to his son Ilham
Aliyev. For this reason, as some Aliyev's opponents confirm, the current
Azerbaijani leader is extremely interested in a quick settlement of the
Karabakh conflict, that the latter is not utilized by opposition and
external forces as an internal political factor which is capable to blast
the situation in the republic and to close the way of Ilham towards the
Olympus of authority.
Meanwhile, it is characteristic that the term of "common state" becomes
rather actual for Azerbaijan and not only in connection with the Karabakh
conflict.
So, some representatives of ultra nationalistic forces in Turkey,
including the party in power MNR, have acted with the proposal to form a
common state including Turkey and Azerbaijan and to convert this state
institute into alternative to the membership of Ankara and Baku into "not
absolutely amicable tuned international organizations", particularly EU
and CIS.
(C) 2001 Transcaspian Project
Paris promoting "defeatist" peace accord for
Azerbaijan - Azeri paper
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 17, 2001
Text of report by Azerbaijani newspaper Yeni Musavat on 16 February entitled
"France did not award Kocharyan for the joy of it" by Z. Safaroglu
[Subhead] Paris is intensifying its defeatist peace efforts
[Armenian President Robert] Kocharyan has ended his visit to France. The
visit can be regarded as the latest reflection of that country's warm
relations with Armenia. Not satisfied with the signing of the bill on the
mythical genocide on the eve of Kocharyan's arrival, Jacques Chirac also
awarded him the order of the Great Cross of the Legion of Honour. Diplomats
say that France very rarely presents such a high award to foreign leaders.
If we take account only of this factor, Azerbaijan and the entire Turkic
world have every right to accuse France of conducting a policy of double
standards. Not only did France not criticize the aggressor, it solemnly
awarded its highest order to the terrorist leader of that aggressor state.
Secondly, it encourages aggression, and thirdly, it supports terrorism. We
do not think that Chirac called [Azerbaijani President] Heydar Aliyev while
Kocharyan was in France, only out of fear of the possible consequences and
in order to "make up" for his extreme pro-Armenian stance. Without bringing
into doubt the importance of this aspect of the issue, we believe that
attention should be focused on the discussion of the secret Paris agreement,
which has not lost its topicality yet. Therefore, the Baku-Paris telephone
conversation again discussed a speedy establishment of peace in the region.
It is obvious that France has intensified its diplomatic activity in the
peace process. Political scientist Rasim Musabayov, a member of the Musavat
council, sees this as a sign of the desire of Paris to be the master of
Europe (Europeans): "We can recall that France had also seized the
initiative on the Kosovo issue and tried to tackle the issue without US inte
rvention. But it failed. Therefore, it is difficult to say how successful
the next attempt of this kind will be. As far as I know, France had certain
relations with Russia on this issue. Because the Kremlin also understands
very well that the USA will seize the initiative at the last moment. It
remains to turn the agreement into a document." From this point of view, the
political scientist does not rule out that by awarding Kocharyan its highest
order, France is hoping that he will soften his stance and take a position
of concessions on certain issues: "It can be felt that France has promised
to increase investment in Armenia. The purpose may be the softening of
Armenia's extremely tough position again." Could France's activity lead to a
concrete result and to the conclusion of a defeatist peace agreement?
Musabayov says: "It is difficult to say anything now. If it comes off, this
will mean that Europe itself has solved its own problem for the first time."
Therefore, it is a fact that intensive work is under way to settle the
conflict in any way possible. The settlement formula is based on mutual
concessions. Since the mediator states do not regard the occupation of 20
per cent of Azerbaijani territory as a concession, we think it is clear what
the talk is about. A defeatist peace is on the agenda.
Source: Yeni Musavat, Baku, in Azeri 16 Feb 01 p5
PA CE TO CONSIDER AZERI GENOCIDE ISSUE
By By Ilkin Bagirov Azernews Staff Writer
Besides responding to Armenia-masterminded "genocide" talk, it is also
necessary to put forward the initiative of achieving international
recognition of the genocide of Azerbaijanis, says chairman of the
permanent commission for international relations and inter-parliamentary
contacts Samad Seyidov, who is a member of the Azerbaijan delegation in
the PA CE.
According to him, it is necessary to raise the issue of the genocide of
Azerbaijanis in March 1918 and on February 26, 1992. Preparations for such
discussions in the PA CE are already underway.
Prior to the discussion of any issue in the Assembly, it is required by
the procedure to collect signatures of 20 PA members, while the Azerbaijan
delegation consists of 6.
Armenians themselves unleashed genocide of Azerbaijanis in 1905-1907,
1918-1920, 1948-1953 and 1988-1993. Chronicles of the perpetrated
atrocities will never be committed to oblivion:
In 1905-1907, Armenians obliterated over 300 villages, brutally killing
ten of thousands of people in Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Nakhchivan, Ganja,
Garabagh, and Zangazur.
A similar massacre was executed in March-April 1918, when Armenians
slaughtered over 50,000 Azeris in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Mughan, and
Lankaran. 1,920 houses were burnt with total death toll of 132,000 people.
Some 500,000 Azeris residing in Armenia were driven out of their homes in
1948-1953 and 1988-1989. Thus, Armenians succeeded in their "Armenian
without Turks" obsession.
As a result of Armenia's aggression against independent Azerbaijan in the
90s, 20% of Azerbaijan territories have been occupied, 20,000 Azeris have
been slain, over 50,000 crippled, 724 towns, villages and residential
settlements burnt. In 1992, Armenian militants exterminated a thousand
residents of the Khojali town of Garabagh, including children, women and
the elderly.
Parliamentary group on genocide to be set up
"It is necessary to set up a special parliamentary group to collect facts
of genocide of Azerbaijanis on part of Armenians from 1918 till 1992,
inform the parliaments of different countries of the discovered evidence
and thus raise the issue internationally", says chairman of the Ana Vatan
Party Fazayil Agamali. The proposal to bring up the issue in the Council
of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was recently initiated by the chairman of
the permanent commission of the Milli Mejlis on international relations
and inter-parliamentary contacts Samad Seyidov.
Azernews, Issue 7 (189), February 14, 2001
ARMENIAN RECONNAISSANCE GROUP ATTEMPTS
TO CROSS LINE-OF-CONTROL
From 01.15 till 01.20 on Wednesday, an Armenian Armed Forces
reconnaissance group attempted to cross the frontline from the occupied
Ajarli village of Agdam and opened sustained machine- and submachine-gun
fire on the Azerbaijan Armed Forces positioned in Yusifjanli village of
the same province. The retaliation fire forces the group to retreat. No
casualties are reported by the MOD.
AssA-Irada News, February 10-15, 2001
Azeri Defence Ministry says Armenian troops
fired at Azeri positions
SOURCE: Source: Turan news agency, Baku, in Russian 1130 gmt 6 Feb 01
Text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Turan on 6 February
Baku, 6 February: The subunits of the Armenian army fired at the
Azerbaijani army positions in the vicinity of Balliqaya village of
Goranboy District on 5 February from 2030 to 2040 [1630-1640 gmt] local
time. The shots were fired from the Murovdaq mountain range which has been
under the Armenian occupation since 1993. The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry
reports that there were no losses.
February 08, 2001, Thursday
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
Karabakh peace talks pushed on
by Vugar Mamedov
The Baku Sun
Azeri President Heidar Aliev and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharyan
walked away from their latest meeting over the Karabakh conflict with
different assessments about the momentum toward peace.
The leaders of the warring countries talked privately for an
hour-and-a-half in Paris last Friday, much longer than had been scheduled.
They were then joined by French President Jacques Chirac, their host, for
lunch and further conversation.
Aliev and Kocharyan declined to disclose the details of their conversation
to journalists, keeping with a precedent they established during their 13
previous closed-door meetings over the past two years.
Aliev, as he usually does, said that the meeting had been productive but
that much difficult negotiating remained before a Karabakh settlement
could be reached. He repeated that both sides must make major compromises
to reach peace.
"The negotiations are progressing slowly with some difficulties involved,"
the Azeri president said upon his return to Baku Saturday.
In Paris, Aliev told journalists that he and Kocharyan were in agreement
that they needed to "continue to seek a solution to this extremely
difficult problem."
Kocharyan, as he usually does, gave similar comments. But he was unusually
optimistic about prospects for success.
"This was the first time that the conflict has been discussed so
thoroughly and broadly," he said.
Kocharyan said that during the first of their several private meetings, he
and Aliev had simply tried to understand one another."Now we are trying to
resolve the problem," he said.
There was no way to judge why Kocharyan was so upbeat. There was some
speculation that he and Aliev may have made genuine headway in their
dialogue.
There was also speculation that Kocharyan was playing to the West and the
international media following the simultaneous admission last week of
Azerbaijan and Armenia to the Council of Europe, an influential human
rights and democracy forum.
There was additional suggestion that the Armenian leader could have been
basking in the French Senate's resolution of last month declaring that the
Ottoman Turkish regime committed genocide against its Armenian subjects
during and immediately after World War I.
Armenia has waged a strident diplomatic campaign to have the killings
internationally labeled as genocide. Azerbaijan has joined its strategic
ally and ethnic cousin Turkey in condemning the Armenian campaign as a
politically motivated distortion of a complex historical period.
Turkey has threatened severe sanctions against France, and Aliev lodged a
protest with Chirac during their private meeting last week.
The French president, who personally opposed his legislature's approval of
the genocide resolution, had an especially significant role to play as
host of the latest meeting between Aliev and Kocharyan.
France, along with the United States and Russia, co-chairs the Minsk
Group, the special Karabakh mediation unit of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Chirac offered a sober assessment of last Friday's meeting, saying there
had been "an exchange of views that was general but cordial."
Aliev, while saying several times that progress was slow, said that there
had been improvement in the atmosphere of his conversations with
Kocharyan.
"We try to make our cases to each other and the process of negotiations
continues," he said Saturday. "That's why I think this meeting was very
helpful."
He added that the most productive part of the meeting was when Chirac was
present. But he said France offered no new peace proposals, and said no
new ideas had recently come from the U.S. or Russia.
But Aliev acknowledged that the visit to Baku and the Armenian capital
Yerevan late last month by Russian National Security Council chief Sergei
Ivanov was connected to the Karabakh conflict. He did not elaborate.
Prior to last week's meeting, Kocharyan restated Armenia's main positions
in Karabakh negotiations. These included equal recognition of all sides in
the conflict, which is code for Yerevan's insistence that the ethnic
Armenian rebel administration in Karabakh be party to negotiations.
Kocharyan also said Armenia was opposed to the status of Karabakh as an
enclave, meaning that a settlement would have to involve the transfer of a
sliver of Azeri territory that would connect the rebel territory to
Armenia-proper.
Baku has adamantly rejected those positions. It refuses to grant more than
generous autonomy to Karabakh, and says it won't surrender any of its
internationally recognized territory.
Countering Kocharyan's position that the Armenian rebels should
participate in negotiations, Aliev said it would only be fair for the
ethnic Azeri refugees who fled Karabakh during the 1988-94 to be
represented in talks as well. But he said that for now, he and Kocharyan
should continue to negotiate between themselves in coordination with the
Minsk Group.
Kocharyan also said Armenia was opposed to the status of Karabakh as an
enclave, meaning that a settlement would have to involve the transfer of a
sliver of Azeri territory that would connect the rebel territory to
Armenia-proper.
Baku has adamantly rejected those positions. It refuses to grant more than
generous autonomy to Karabakh, and says it won't surrender any of its
internationally recognized territory.
Countering Kocharyan's position that the Armenian rebels should
participate in negotiations, Aliev said it would only be fair for the
ethnic Azeri refugees who fled Karabakh during the 1988-94 to be
represented in talks as well. But he said that for now, he and Kocharyan
should continue to negotiate between themselves in coordination with the
Minsk Group.
Copyright 2001 The Baku Sun
ALIEV AND KOCHARYAN HAVE HURRIED TO REPORT BEFORE MOSCOW?
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan - Robert Kocharyan and Heydar
Aliev, after returning home from France, where they participated in the
official ceremony held in the honor of introduction both Transcaucasian
republics in the council of Europe, and have negotiations regarding the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, had telephone talks with the
chapter of the Russian state Vladimir Putin.
According to a report from Kremlin, during each conversation Vladimir
Putin has congratulated the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the
introduction of both republics into the council of Europe, and has
discussed common problems concerning the development of bilateral
partnership. As follows from the official press release, the telephone
negotiations were held under the initiative of Cocharyan and Aliev.
The majority of experts are convinced that both presidents actually have
"reported" before Moscow, having presented the Russian leader their vision
of the Parisian negotiations and their possible outcomes. Symptomatically
that the meeting of Aliev-Kocharyan held under the initiative of the
French president Jack Chirac took place in an atmosphere of "saturated
speculativeness". The Baku and Yerevan MASS-MEDIAS, referring to anonymous
sources in diplomatic circles of both republics, approved that the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan need to give particularly in Paris
final answers concerning two ostensibly prepared by Moscow and Paris new
plans regarding the achievement of a peaceful resolution for the
longstanding Karabakh problem. According to these reports, the so-called
"Western plan", which authorship Paris ostensibly claims, proposes
freezing the conflict and establishing a comprehensive economic
interaction in the Southern Caucasian region, namely - opening the blocked
communications between Armenia and Azerbaijan (and equally between Armenia
and Turkey), realization of joint communication and energy transregional
projects. Yerevan, as the Baku press assured, is more seduced by this
plan. Yerevan repeatedly declared the necessity to take into consideration
the existing status quo in the Karabakh region. The Azerbaijan party, as
followed from different Media speculations, is ready to give "OK" to the
Russian plan, which implies settlement of the conflict on conventional
gears.
According to the last, particularly, the conservation of territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan with granting the highest form of autonomies for
Nagorno-Karabakh is meant, de jure. However, it is apparent that Yerevan
cannot accept such plan, which actually means the return to the so-called
Lissabon principles, which were rejected still by the former Armenian
president Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to mark that there were no official
confirmations to these reports. However, a number of experts consider that
the mass demonstrative growth of diplomatic activity around the process of
Karabakh settlement testifies about definite confidential negotiations,
which, possibly, took place even during the telephone negotiations between
Putin-Cocharyan and Putin-Aliev.
05.02.2001
Aram ARAMYAN, Mamed ALIZADE
Trans-Caspian Project
Foreign Relation's Committee approves bill accusing France of genocide
Ankara - Turkish Daily News
The Turkish Parliament's Foreign Relation's Committee approved a bill
accusing France of committing genocide against Turks in Anatolia in the
1920s during France's occupation of southern Turkey.
Although the deputies agreed to the approval of the bill, they were not
able to agree on the exact wording of the text. As a result of the
debates, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik's proposal was accepted and committee
chairman Kamran Inan was charged to prepare a new text.
Irtemcelik suggested not to directly include Algerians in the bill since
it may weaken the law.
"Turkey did not support the Algerians' struggle for independence against
France in the 1950s and did not recognize Algeria's independence in
1954. How can Turkey answer any questions from Algeria on this
issue?" Irtemcelik said.
He also indicated that the Armenian massacre of Azeri people in
Nagorno-Karabakh at the beginning of the 1990s and the assassination of
Turkish diplomats by terrorist organization the Armenian Secret Army for
the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) may be included in the new draft law.
The committee members will come together next week to discuss a new text.
16 FEBRUARY 2001,
Copyright Turkish Daily News
UNICEF launches programme to inform Azeri civilians about landmine
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 6, 2001
Text of report by C.Ibrahimova, Ekho newspaper, entitled "If only we could
hear silent cry"
[subhead] New programme on mine clearing has been prepared
The problem of landmines exists in all "hot points" of the world. [Passage
omitted: international data on people who lost their lives as a result of
landmines]
Unfortunately, this problem has affected Azerbaijan as well. According to
preliminary data, over 14,000 Azerbaijani citizens have suffered from mines
since the start of the war on the country's territory. Not only the
servicemen but also civilians, who returned to the liberated lands, have
become the victims of these explosive devices.
A news conference held by the UNICEF coordinator, Tekhnaz Dastur, on
landmines in the North Caucasus [on 2 February in Baku] was devoted to the
launch of a new programme to inform people about the danger posed by mines.
She said that as of today, 604 sq.km. of liberated Azerbaijani lands are
mined.
It is not difficult to think that this problem is more acute on occupied
lands. According to data by the International Committee of the Red Cross,
50,000 mines of various types have been planted in the Nagornyy Karabakh
alone including anti-tank mines. The main reason for the increasing number
of people disabled for the rest of their lives is that civilians do not know
much about this danger. They do not quite understand the seriousness of the
problem and they cannot recognize landmines.
Therefore, the aim of the aforementioned programme is to increase the
knowledge of people about the danger posed by mines. UNICEF launches today
[3 February] a training course which will give the necessary knowledge and
skills in mine clearing to 15 instructors.
The programme envisages to run the same training course for 800 teachers,
500 medical employees and 200 representatives of public organizations in the
near future. These people will be responsible for informing the people who
return to their native lands about the danger of mines.
Tekhnaz Dastur said that the programme would be implemented jointly with the
Azerbaijani national agency on mine clearing under UNICEF and the US
Department of State. Plenty of various information material (posters,
booklets, video cassettes) for adults and children is aimed at assisting
people in the country. UNICEF has implemented a similar programme for the
people in Chechnya and Ingushetia.
Source: Azerbaijan Emergency Code 1, in Russian 03 Feb 01 p3
Armenia has most criminals wanted by Interpol among Caucasian countries
Snark
3 Feb 01
Yerevan, 3 February: Armenia takes first place compared to other
Transcaucasian countries - Georgia and Azerbaijan - in terms of the
number of criminals wanted by Interpol. On the Internet site of
this international detective organization, 36 citizens of Armenia,
who have broken the law, have been put on the wanted list,
including former Interior Minister Vano Siradegyan, who has been on
the run for a year now.
In terms of the number of criminal elements wanted by the Interpol,
Russia comes next - 13 people are wanted, mainly Chechen
terrorists. It is followed by Georgia and Azerbaijan. One
criminal from each of these countries is on the wanted list - plus
kidnapped children.
[Passage omitted: Further minor details]
Credit: Snark news agency, Yerevan, in Russian 1245 03 Feb 01
ASA Press Release: Armenian Extremism on Trial in Ohio
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 14:06:41 -0800 (PST)
For further information contact:
Tomris Azeri, President
Azerbaijan Society of America-NJ
[email protected]
February 5, 2001
Armenian Extremism on Trial in Ohio
The Azerbaijan Society of America welcomes the conviction of the former
Chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Murad
Topalian by a district court in Ohio. Although a prominent
Armenian-American activist and a long-term ANCA Chairman was sentenced for
storing explosives, the investigation by the federal authorities pointed
to the links between Mr. Topalian and terrorist acts carried out by the
Armenian radicals in New York in 1980s.
Murad Topalian's prominence in the ranks of the Armenian political
activists also highlights the acceptance of political violence and
terrorism by Armenian radicals driven by ethnocentric ideology. Court
proceedings in Ohio once again showed that Armenian ideologists are trying
to use historical grievances, either real or invented, as justification
for their brutal violence today.
Mr. Topalian's links to terrorism and political violence should not come
as a surprise, for he and his organization, ANCA, a self-described largest
grass-roots Armenian organization, have actively supported and encouraged
Armenia's illegal occupation of 20% of neighboring Azerbaijan and violent
ethnic cleansing of nearly 1 million Azerbaijani civilians. Certainly,
those, who support violence against peaceful civilians abroad, are prone
to use violence also at home. Those, who encourage ethnic cleansing on
the occupied Azerbaijani lands, do not hesitate, just as Mr. Topalian, to
store dangerous explosives next door to a children's daycare center in
Ohio.
Mr. Topalian's conviction and links to political radicals should be a wake
up call for the pro- Armenian Members of US Congress. He was among those,
who actively lobbied for enacting the unfair Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act and supported Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Azerbaijan Society of America is a non-profit organization dedicated
to enhancing knowledge about the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azeri people,
their culture and history.
Copyright 2001 Azerbaijan Society of America
Armenian MPs want self-government for Georgia's Armenian-populated area
Yerevan, 8 February: Representatives from a number of political forces
represented in the Armenian parliament - the Communist Party and [the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation -] Dashnaktsutyun - believe that Javakhk
(the Armenian-populated area in Samtskhe-Javakheti Region of Georgia)
should be given self-government status.
A Dashnaktsutyun representative, Armen Rustamyan, said that it would only
be a question of self-government, but the problem must be raised not in
Armenia, but in Javakhk. Rustamyan said that the right of self-government
must be granted in accordance with norms of international law. This
measure is necessary to give the ethnic minorities living in this region a
chance to protect their interests, Rustamyan said.
A Communist Party representative, Frunze Kharatyan, said that the need for
Javakhk to have self-government status had matured long ago because a
"shortsighted ethnic policy" was being followed in the region.
A representative of the Law and Unity bloc, Artashes Gegamyan, spoke
against raising this question, as he saw in this a danger of triggering an
active rapprochement between Georgia and Turkey. The raising of the
question about self-government for Javakhk could serve as grounds for
qualifying Armenia as a centre of instability in the region, Gegamyan
said.
Source: Snark news agency, Yerevan, in Russian 0530 gmt 09 Feb 01 / BBC
Monitoring/ � BBC
Armenian terrorist group might be behind Azeri MP's murder - paper
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 11, 2001
[Subhead] Documents of the former Armenian KGB show that this Armenian
terrorist organization planned the academician's "liquidation" long ago
Hearings into the case of members of the Velayat-e Faqih Hezbollah terrorist
group have been going on at the [Azerbaijani] court for grave crimes
throughout this week. We should note that the most sensational act by this
group in Azerbaijan was the assassination of academician [and MP] Ziya
Bunyadov on 21 February 1997 outside his flat.
[passage omitted: details of hearings]
Meanwhile, there are grounds to say that ASALA - the Armenian Secret Army
for the Liberation of Armenia - might have been the organizer of Bunyadov's
murder. The late academician's sharp statements about Armenians forging
history and about ideologists of the "Karabakh movement" are not the only
reason.
The Armenian daily Azg reported on 15 December 2000 that Armenia's state
archives contained documents confirming that ASALA had prepared a terrorist
act against Ziya Bunyadov back in 1989. The report proceeded from a
statement made by the academician's son and reported by [Armenian] Snark
news agency. He said that statements about Hezbollah's involvement in his
father's assassination were "bizarre and puzzling" and said he was confident
that the murder had political motives. In turn, Azg says that the central
state archive of documents of political and public organizations of the
Republic of Armenia (fund 1, list 87, case 43, p51) contains report No
1/1961 by the chairman of Armenia's KGB, Valeriy Badamyants, marked "top
secret" and entitled "On reactions by the Armenian community of Iran to the
situation in the Armenian SSR". The Central Committee of the Communist Party
of Armenia received this document dated 6 October 1989 already on 12 October
that year, and the then second secretary of the committee, Oleg Lobov,
familiarized himself with it and referred it to the committee's secretary,
Galust Galoyan.
Badamyants reports in the document: "Aggravation of the situation in the
Armenian SSR due to the blockade by Azerbaijan generates an extremist mood
among a part of Iranian Armenians. For instance, on the eve of the visit to
Iran by the director of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Academy of
Sciences of the Azerbaijani SSR, Ziya Bunyadov, the leadership of the
Armenian Popular Union discussed the expediency of committing a terrorist
act against Bunyadov by fighters of the Armenian Secret Army for the
Liberation of Armenia.
"However, the Iranian leadership of the Armenian Popular Movement (operating
in Iran under the name of Armenian Popular Union - Azg), which was believed
to be a political wing of ASALA, refrained from the terrorist act against
Ziya Bunyadov proceeding from the following ideas:
- the community is inclined to believe that the Armenian-Azerbaijani
confrontation will be settled by political means;
- the murder would make the situation in the Transcaucasus extremely tense;
- the Soviet leadership can put up undesirable resistance."
Not long before his assassination, Ziya Bunyadov again found himself in Iran
as member of a delegation. The academic was separated from the rest of the
delegation and provided with a car, saying that he would be more comfortable
during the trip. The car crashed en route.
However, this is not the most interesting thing. ASALA has been closely
cooperating with Middle Eastern terrorist gangs, including Hezbollah, for a
long time. In particular, the then Turkish envoy to the USA, Sukru Elekdag,
wrote in his letter of 2 December 1985 to members of the US Congress House
of Representatives: "Recent press reports say that Armenian terrorist groups
are cooperating with their 'colleagues' from Middle Eastern terrorist
organizations which are responsible for the bombardment of naval bases and
the US embassy in Beirut."
The USA's Armenian Reporter newspaper wrote on 17 January 1985, quoting a
report by Associated Press from Beirut: "ASALA has expressed its support to
the revolutionary movement of radical Lebanese groups. The statement says
that by its revolutionary activities, the Islamic Jihad organization 'has
brought a fresh historical wave in the fair struggle of oppressed peoples in
the Middle East and in the struggle for the liberation of western Armenia
from the Turkish fascist regime'."
Armenian Reporter stresses that Islamic Jihad "has close connections with
other radical organizations, including the party of the Most High", i.e.
Hezbollah, which are responsible for the bombing of the US embassy in
Beirut. The same Armenian Reporter notes in a report from New York dated 9
July 1987 that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, advised the Turkish
secret police in advance to keep an eye on the new developments resulting
from the establishment of close cooperation between ASALA and Hezbollah, an
extremist radical Lebanese underground group actively supporting Iranian
leader Ayatollah Khamene'i. Mossad also informed their Turkish colleagues
that ASALA, acting in concert with Hezbollah, was planning a number of acts
of violence against Turkish diplomats and Turkish businesses.
Thus, a close and well-organized partnership existed between ASALA and
Hezbollah back in 1987. As ASALA cannot function openly on the territory of
Azerbaijan and Turkey, unlike Greece and France, it has to hide under the
shield of other organizations. In Turkey, this is mainly the PKK [Kurdistan
Workers' Party]. In Azerbaijan, this role was intended for Sadval [Lezgin
national movement], and probably, the branch of Hezbollah created by the
Iranian special services in Azerbaijan, whose members finally killed the
academician.
Source: Azerbaijan Emergency Code 1, in Russian 10 Feb 01 pp1,5
Armenian Terrorism Rears Its Ugly Head... Again!
In his article "The man who started a hurricane" (Feb 14), Alex Coolman
correctly observes "The extreme reactions Carney's letter provoked --
threats of physical violence and the decision to stop speaking altogether
-- are destructive to public life..."
Now consider this fact: According to our own department of Justice, 25%
of all terrorist acts in the United States between 1980-1986 were
committed by Armenians. Add to that the Armenian hate crimes that
resulted in deaths of more than 70 innocent people around the world since
1970. Make up your own mind.
Allegation of Armenian genocide, is a racist way of looking at history.
It means 'Turkish dead are not as important as Armenian dead, although
there are four times as many Turkish dead as Armenian dead". It is
hurtful... It is selective morality... It is unethical, unfair, and
un-American...
Armenians must understand that by threats and violence, they will not
silence the truth!
Sincerely,
Ergun KIRLIKOVALI
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(for full article look)
The man who started a hurricane
Paul Carney, like the rest of Glendale, is still recovering from his
letter to the News-Press.
By ALEX COOLMAN
The Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/communities/news/burbank-glendale_metro/20010214/tgn0011819.html
BOOK ON ARMENIAN TERRORISM PUBLISHED
The AzerNashr publishing house has released a book by Erich Faigle, The
truth of the terror. Armenian terrorism sources and reasons. The book has
been published in Russian language in 1,000 copies and translated from
French by Novruz Mammadov. Author of the book, first published in German
and French in 1986-1987, is Austrian national.
The fate of the book is very interesting, as its entire circulation
quickly vanished into thin air with only a few presented and library
copies left. It was ascertained later on that Armenians had bought almost
all copies, destroyed them thus perpetrating another type of terror
ideological and moral, says Ali Hasanov, Ph.D. in History, in his foreword
to the book.
The book by Erich Faigle is dedicated to his close friend Erdogan Ozan,
former attach for Turkish embassy in Vienna who was killed by Armenian
terrorists. Based on documentary evidence, the author says there was no
genocide of Armenians whatsoever and that this is a myth concocted by
Armenians themselves. In 1915, 2.5 million Muslims in the Ottoman Empire
and Azerbaijan fell victims to Armenian terror.
The book also contains numerous materials concerning the tragedy of the
Azerbaijan population of Garabagh, Nakhchivan and Zangazur, residents of
Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, etc.
The lists of victims of Armenian terror in 70-80s contained in the
edition, materials from Turkish archives, maps, and photos give a
comprehensive picture of the tragic developments connected with the very
notion of Armenian terrorism, its sources and reasons.
AssA-Irada News, February 10-15, 2001
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE CONTRARY TO ARMENIAN
ALLEGATIONS IN RUSSIAN ARCHIVES
According to books prepared by the Armenian Philology Desk at
Moscow University , the number of Armenians exposed to deportation
were 438.758, not 1.5 million as alleged. Russian information
sources and books at Moscow University were prepared by using the
Russian archives and show the Armenian allegations are untrue. The
books stated 382.148 Armenians were put in Syrian refugee camps
and others died from illness or terrorist attacks. The books said
there was no genocide. The Russian documents on the issue will be
translated into English and Turkish. /Turkiye/
Turkish Press Review -- Thu, 08 Feb 01 (fwd)
FRENCH INTELLECTUALS CRITICIZE FRENCH PARLIAMENT
Alexandre Adler (journalist): "The balloting was terrible. 20% of
the parliamentarians who voted was ignorant about foreign policy,
the others voted in order to humiliate Turkey because, they are
against Turkish inclusion in Europe. We presented a stupid gift to
Kocaryan." Olivier Roy (Islamic Specialist): "This is no way
related to France's strategic interests. It was done completedly
for ballot concerns. While Rwanda and Algeria exist, a vote on a
matter which does not concern us is very absurd." Jacques Attali
(Writer): "During history, we enjoyed warm French-Turco relations.
The decision is a pychological drama. We have to turn new pages.
Turkey will be a center of attraction in ten years." Dominique
Moisi (Academician): "There are very powerful and organized
Armenian lobbies. We, the French, submitted to those. Strangely,
France is Turkey's the most powerful ally in Europe." /Turkiye/
SECOND ARMENIAN MEMBER OF THE MHP
An Armenian man, reacting to the approval of the so-called
Armenian genocide bill, became a member of the Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) in Yalova's district of Cinarcik. Jirayr Derguzeryan,
aged 45 and a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, stated he was
protesting the law. He registered into the MHP's Cinarcik
community. Derguzeryan said, "I was born in this beautiful
country, did my military service here and pay my taxes here. This
country has never discriminated against me just because I am an
Armenian." Another Armenian, Agop Ficiciyan, joined the MHP in
Cinarcik the day before. /Aksam/
Turkish Press Review -- Mon, 05 Feb 01