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| March 1 |
Senior U.S. officials this week confirmed
media reports that they are planning measures against a group of al
Qaeda-affiliated Islamic radicals based in Georgia. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld called north-eastern Georgia's Pankisi Gorge a "terrorist
pocket" and said the U.S. will provide the Georgian military
with training and equipment to "improve their capability of putting
pressure on [the] terrorist organization" based in that area.
Various news reports suggested that up to 200 U.S. military advisors,
including Special Forces, will be deployed to train Georgia's recently
established rapid reaction forces. As part of its military assistance
program, the Pentagon has already transferred six combat helicopters
to Georgia and is training local crews.
Like much of Georgia, the Pankisi Gorge has been out of Tbilisi's
control for years. When Russia reintroduced forces in Chechnya in
1999, numerous Chechen fighters and their radical Islamic backers
fled to Pankisi, where they established training camps and supply
bases. For a while, the Georgian government turned a blind eye to
the region that increasingly became a safe haven for drug-trafficking,
kidnapping and terrorism. Last October, senior Georgian officials
reportedly co-opted hundreds of Pankisi-based Chechen, Azeri and Arab
fighters to raid its break-away republic of Abkhazia. The unsuccessful
attack claimed numerous lives, including over a dozen local Armenian
civilians, and led to a government crisis in Tbilisi.
Spokeswoman for Armenia's Foreign Ministry Dziunik Aghajanian, citing
lack of information, declined to provide the Ministry's position on
this week's developments. She expressed hope, however, that the U.S.
military presence in Georgia would not result in new regional tensions.
Aghajanian's comments followed a statement by the Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov, who said that the U.S. military presence "may
further aggravate the situation which is difficult as it is."
Moscow's reaction reflects its suspicions that the U.S. wants to establish
a permanent military presence along its border. Secretary of State
Colin Powell spoke with Ivanov on Thursday in an effort to allay Russia's
concerns.
For years Russia urged Georgia to take joint action to rid the Pankisi
area of the rebel presence, but its overtures have been repeatedly
rebuffed. Finally, a month ago, Georgia's top security official Nugzar
Sajaya suggested such action would be possible. A veteran politician
who has worked with President Eduard Shevardnadze for over 30 years,
Sajaya was found shot in his office last Monday. Georgian officials
were quick to suggest that he was driven to commit suicide by accusations
leveled against him by opposition politicians, but most observers
dismissed that explanation. |
| March 1 |
Defense Minister Serge Sargsian today
confirmed earlier reports that he will make an official visit to Washington
to discuss military cooperation with the United States. The visit
is set for March 17-20. He also downplayed concerns expressed by Russian
officials that the presence of U.S. military advisors in Georgia may
destabilize the region. A U.S. military delegation led by Col. Elmer
Guy White of the U.S. European Command was in Yerevan on Thursday
and Friday to discuss the planned $4.3 million in U.S. military assistance
to Armenia. Sargsian, who is also the secretary of Armenia's National
Security Council, reiterated Armenia's opposition to creation of "new
dividing lines and blocs in the region." He seemed hopeful, however,
that Russia and the United States will be able to work out any differences
on dealing with Georgia-based terrorists. |
| March 1 |
Elected representatives from fifteen
countries, members of the European Union (EU), voted 391 to 96 with
15 abstentions to defeat the most recent effort by Turkey to remove
the Armenian Genocide issue from the EU agenda. The European Parliament
then adopted the report on EU's relations with the South Caucasus,
which "calls upon Turkey to take appropriate steps in accordance
with its European ambitions, especially concerning the termination
of the blockade against Armenia; reiterates in this respect the position
in its resolution of 18 June 1987 recognising the genocide upon Armenians
[of] 1915 and calls upon Turkey to create a basis for reconciliation."
Turkey was designated a candidate for EU membership in 1999.
In a speech opposing the Turkish-sponsored amendment, the report's
author Per Gahrton of Sweden said that "history should not be
rewritten" and that "the guilt of the perpetrators [of the
Armenian Genocide] was unquestionably proven." But Turkish parliamentarians
were quick to condemn the report supported by all major factions of
the European Parliament as "acceptance of baseless Armenian claims."
The report also called on EU members to adopt a common strategy in
cooperation with the South Caucasus. |
| March 1 |
Diplomats from France were joined
by representatives of other foreign missions accredited in Baku (with
a notable exception of Georgia's) in a protest walk-out from the Azerbaijani
parliamentary session this week. The demarche was triggered by a member
of the President Heydar Aliyev's New Azerbaijan Party Shamil Gurbanov,
who publicly called the French President Jacques Chirac a "bandit"
and accused him of "impudence" for his endorsement of France's
official recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Azerbaijani media subsequently
characterized the diplomats' move as a "show of disrespect"
towards Azerbaijan and human losses it suffered during the Karabagh
war. They were especially upset that the Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan
Unal Cevikoz joined the walk-out.
The Azerbaijani Parliament held the session to mark the 10th anniversary
of the fall of Khojalu, a town located close to Stepanakert, which
served as a major military base in Azerbaijan's siege of Nagorno Karabagh
in 1991-92. The Azerbaijani government claims that hundreds of civilians
were killed following the fall of Khojalu and blames Armenian forces
for their deaths. It has asked that it be internationally recognized
as 'genocide' and this week one Azeri politician compared the event
to the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. However, contemporaneous
evidence shows beyond doubt that the Karabagh self-defense forces
provided safe passage to the remnants of the Khojalu military garrison
and their families. Some were caught in the crossfire while approaching
the Azerbaijani lines, miles away from Khojalu.
Azerbaijan's first President Ayaz Mutalibov repeatedly accused his
political opponents of engineering the civilian losses following the
fall of Khojalu in order to topple him. Mutalibov was forced to resign
days after the events, and his attempted comeback in May of 1992 was
thwarted by a coup organized by the Azerbaijani branch of the Turkish
fascist Grey Wolves organization. |
| March 1 |
President Robert Kocharian traveled
this week to two central European countries and then proceeded to
an informal meeting of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS), hosted by Kazakhstan. Kocharian first visited Slovakia,
where he held talks with President Rudolf Schuster on ways to expand
economic cooperation between the two countries from the current low
level of bilateral trade (under $1 million annually). The two presidents
also expressed the desire to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy,
on which both countries rely. While speaking at a press conference
in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, Kocharian praised the "civilized
divorce" between Slovakia and the Czech Republic following the
fall of communism in the early 1990s. "We believe that the territory
formerly called the Azerbaijani Soviet [Socialist] Republic, too,
should have produced two states: the republics of Azerbaijan and Nagorno
Karabagh," he said.
Kocharian next visited Vienna, meeting with President Tomas Klestil,
Prime Minister Wolfgang Schussel and other Austrian officials. They
discussed political and economic cooperation, and Armenia's long-term
goal of integration with the European community. Kocharian also spoke
at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce urging more companies to follow
the recent example of Austrian Airlines and invest in Armenia. The
Armenian President visited with the approximately 3,000-strong local
Armenian community and laid a wreath at the grave of the Austria writer
Franz Werfel, the author of the book about the Armenian Genocide "40
Days of Musa Dagh." While in Vienna, Kocharian also met with
the French, Russian and U.S. mediators in the Karabagh conflict.
On Thursday, Kocharian continued to the Kazakh capital of Almaty for
unofficial talks with ten other leaders of the twelve-member CIS.
(Azerbaijan's Heydar Aliyev is the only CIS President who will not
attend due to his recent hospitalization.) Kocharian is expected to
hold separate talks with the Presidents of Georgia, Russia and Turkmenistan,
while the Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian will meet his counterparts
from Moldova and Uzbekistan. |
| March 1 |
Armenian companies that produce computer
hardware, software programs and provide internet services, many of
them branches of leading U.S. technology firms, are experiencing the
most rapid growth of any branches of the economy, company and government
representatives said this week. They said the sector now employs up
to 4,000 professionals and exported products worth $20 million last
year. The Armenian government identified information technology as
one of the most promising sectors of the economy. Despite the relatively
higher cost of telecommunications, Armenia leads the region in the
number of internet users and has inherited a significant number of
electronics specialists from the Soviet period. |
| March 1- 8 |
Commentators in Russia, Turkey and
the U.S. suggested this week that the Georgia "train-and-equip" program,
announced by American officials last month, is likely to focus more
on propping up the troubled leadership in Tbilisi and protecting Georgia's
transit infrastructure than fighting terrorism. The program, estimated
to be at least $64 million, will involve transfers of "all necessary
military equipment" and six-month training for a 1,600-person rapid
reaction force by up to 200 U.S. Special Forces. Georgian officials
have already said that the troops to be trained will be the same as
those slated to protect the planned oil and gas pipelines from the
Caspian to Turkey. Turkish sources said the presence of the U.S. military
in Georgia will drive down insurance costs and serve as a kind of
U.S. subsidy to help British Petroleum-led pipeline consortia secure
financing for the $3 billion construction project expected to begin
this July.
Georgia's security officials have also tried to shift the international
focus from Pankisi gorge, a Chechen-controlled area in northeastern
Georgia that the U.S. said also serves as a safe haven for al Qaeda
terrorists. The Georgian State Security Ministry instead accused the
break-away province of Abkhazia of hosting terrorists and suggested
it should be the target. Speaking during a visit to Moscow this week,
U.S. Envoy on Nagorno Karabagh and other regional conflicts Rudolf
Perina tried to assuage fears that U.S. involvement may re-ignite
inter-ethnic conflicts in Georgia, by saying that the U.S.-trained
Georgian forces will not be used to fight in either Abkhazia or South
Ossetia, another former hot spot.
Expressing apprehension, a New York Times editorial suggested this
week that the U.S. should limit its mission to training Georgians
to fight terrorism on their own. But U.S. analysts believe any actual
anti-terrorist combat in Georgia will not succeed without direct U.S.
participation. Russian officials have already endorsed such a possibility,
but the region's other military power, Iran, expressed strong opposition
to any U.S. deployments in the area. Iranian concerns stem from its
unresolved maritime dispute with Azerbaijan over Caspian oil fields,
where both countries have threatened to use force to protect what
they each claim to be their territory. Azerbaijan now hopes that the
U.S. will help it build up its navy to contain the Iranians and protect
the oil fields developed by Western companies.
Predictably, the possibility of increased U.S. military assistance
to Azerbaijan worries Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. At the same time,
Armenia is striving to upgrade its security cooperation with both
the United States and Georgia. In the framework of NATO's Partnership
for Peace program, Armenia plans to send forces to Georgia to participate
in peace-keeping exercises there this June. Tevan Poghosian of the
Atlantic Association, a NATO-affiliated NGO in Armenia, said that
he expected the more direct U.S. involvement in Georgia to stimulate
regional cooperation and help contain radical jihad groups that have
in the past declared war on Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh. |
| March 1- 8 |
Israel's leading Genocide scholars
this week criticized the country's Foreign Ministry for its attitude
towards the Armenian Genocide. Last month, officials at the Israeli
Foreign Ministry said that while they recognized the tragedy that
befell the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, they believe that those
events cannot be compared to genocide. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres has claimed in the past that Israel does not officially recognize
the Armenian Genocide "out of concern for the unique place of
the Holocaust in the chronicles of human history." Observers
believe that the growing security cooperation between Israel and Turkey
has contributed to this attitude.
In an open letter to Peres, Director of the Jerusalem-based Institute
on the Holocaust and Genocide, Dr. Israel Charny said that "the
values of Zion weep at our realpolitik shaming of another people."
He recalled the recent letter by 126 Holocaust scholars in support
of official recognition of the Armenian Genocide and equated its denial
with the denial of Holocaust. Writing in the Israeli daily Haaretz,
Dr. Yair Auron, a genocide scholar at the Open University of Israel
and the Kibbutzim College of Education, strongly criticized the Foreign
Ministry's statements, calling them "shameful" and "dangerous."
This position, Auron wrote, makes Israel an accomplice in Turkey's
campaign of genocide denial and "desecrates the memory of the
Holocaust and its significance."
The Hebrew-language on-line forum of the Yediot Aharanot, a leading
daily newspaper in Israel, provided a glimpse into the attitude of
the Israeli public. Over two-thirds of the forum participants criticized
the Foreign Ministry's position as "immoral" and drew parallels
between the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Reacting to the comments
made by the Israeli Ambassador to Armenia, the Armenian government
issued a diplomatic note of protest to Israel. Amid demands for expulsion
of the Ambassador, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said last week
that the government has no plans to take this measure. |
| March 1- 8 |
Azerbaijani officials renewed their
verbal attacks on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) for not supporting its territorial claim on Karabagh
during the annual visit of the OSCE's Chairman-in-Office this week.
The attacks came as international mediators from France, Russia and
the United States prepare for another shuttle diplomacy tour of the
region later this week. The Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama,
who is holding the OSCE chairmanship this year, visited with the presidents
of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh and renewed international
support for agreements reached by the sides during high-profile negotiations
held in Paris and Key West, Florida last year. Azerbaijan subsequently
walked away from the tentative agreement which reportedly gave Azerbaijan
some of the territories lost in the early 1990s in exchange for Karabagh's
independence.
Azerbaijan's position on Karabagh does not appear to have become any
more constructive since. Writing this week on the state of the Karabagh
peace process, Clare Doyle, a Baku-based freelance journalist, observed
that Azerbaijani authorities are "more concerned with winning
the public relations struggle over Karabagh than with making peace
on the ground." Azerbaijan is complicating international peace
efforts by stoking anti-Armenian hatred, instead of preparing its
public for a peace settlement. In its effort to stonewall the resolution
of the Karabagh conflict, Azerbaijan is also attempting to discredit
the mediators by accusing them of "pro-Armenian bias."
Armenian and Karabagh leaders say they have not lost hope that Azerbaijan
may eventually adopt a more constructive approach and there may even
be progress this year. But the realization that the conflict may remain
unresolved for some time is becoming more apparent. Igor Muradian,
a Yerevan-based political analyst, told a local newspaper last week
that faced with Azerbaijan's intransigence, the mediators no longer
view the settlement as urgent. Russia and the West have instead focused
on real sources of instability, such as weak governments and radical
terrorist movements, and consider
the present status quo in Karabagh stable enough to continue with
regional projects. |
| March 1- 8 |
The head of Turkey's powerful National
Security Council General Tuncer Kilinc told a military conference
in Istanbul this week that Turkey's efforts to join the European Union
(EU) are "doomed to fail." He called for closer ties with
Russia and Iran instead. General Kilinc said he believed that the
EU would never accept Turkey and that Turkey needed new allies. Turkish
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit dismissed General Kilinc's remarks, telling
CNN-Turk Television that the general was expressing his personal opinion.
He said Turkish relations with the EU "are progressing smoothly"
and denied that Turkey was considering alternatives.
Last week, in a move that angered Turkey, the parliament of the EU
reaffirmed its recognition of the Armenian Genocide and called on
Turkey to "take appropriate steps in accordance with its European
ambitions, especially concerning the termination of the blockade against
Armenia." The Turkish government quickly condemned the resolution.
However, press reports indicate some tension within the government
coalition on this subject, with liberals pushing for the changes and
conservatives resisting what they consider meddling from Europe. The
15-member EU accepted Turkey as a candidate for membership in 1999
but insists that its government first enact major reforms with regard
to human rights and its Kurdish minority. |
| March 1- 8 |
Armenia's Transport and Communications
Minister Andranik Manukian said this week that if the courts back
fraud charges against telecommunications operator ArmenTel, the Greek-owned
company may lose its legal monopoly. Responding to questions from
parliamentarians, Manukian said, "If we prove in court that those
abuses did take place, then I think the government should raise the
issue of stripping [ArmenTel] of the monopoly." It was the first time
a government official had indicated possible consequences for the
company as a result of the government's legal actions.
ArmenTel's parent company, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization
(OTE), was recently charged with grossly inflating its investments
in the Armenian telecom sector. The company had pledged to invest
$100 million by 2001 but an inter-ministerial commission found that
its total investment to date was only $52.5 million. Company executives
were also accused of engaging in other forms of financial fraud.
Earlier government attempts to end OTE's 15-year monopoly, granted
when the company took over ArmenTel in 1998, have failed. OTE says
a significant compensation package would have to be provided if it
were to relinquish the monopoly. In Athens this week, a Greek public
prosecutor also charged a key OTE business partner with fraud, money
laundering and espionage. |
| March 8- 15 |
Armenia will hold back-to-back presidential
and parliamentary elections in the Spring of 2003. While the polls
are a year away, the country appears to have already entered a pre-election
period. Leading political figures and parties have begun to make endorsements
and weigh their chances. Incumbent President Robert Kocharian has
already indicated he will seek re-election. At this point, he faces
two potential challengers: Artashes Geghamian and Stepan Demirchian.
Opinion polls late last year showed both challengers lagging behind
Kocharian in popularity by two-digit percentage points.
A veteran parliamentarian, Geghamian heads a small National Accord
Party (AMK). In the last two years he has risen to prominence as the
most popular opposition figure, but he lacks a strong organization
and has no known allies. By contrast, Demirchian lacks personal popularity,
but has the organizational support of the People's Party (HZhK), founded
by his father, the late Parliament Speaker Karen Demirchian. He is
also likely to receive political and financial backing of the Party
of the Republic (HK) and Armenian National Movement (HHSh). Their
unofficial leaders, the ex-Prime Minister Aram Sargsian and ex-President
Levon Ter-Petrosian, are not considered to be serious contenders for
the presidency.
On the parliamentary side, both support for and opposition to President
Kocharian is spread across the political spectrum. The alliance between
the conservative Republican Party (HHK), led by Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian and the largest parliamentary force today, and left-of-center
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (HHD) continues to form the crux
of Kocharian's political support base. The right-of-center parties,
Country of Law (OYeK), Democratic Liberals (RAK), Decent Future (AAK)
and Self-Determination Union (IM), and smaller groups on the left,
have also backed the president and announced plans to seek pre-election
alliances.
In addition to AMK, HZhK, HK and HHSh, the opposition is represented
by the Communist Party (HKK), Socialist Armenia Union (SHM), Constitutional
Rights Union (SIM) and National Democratic Union (AZhM). Both pro-presidential
and opposition forces draw on significant financial and media resources,
which is likely to precipitate a tough election struggle. |
| March 8- 15 |
Community leaders in the mostly Armenian-populated
Georgian province of Javakheti again denied claims by Georgian and
foreign media that they intend to break away from Georgia. Leaders
of the local Virk party circulated a statement saying that such claims
are made to "prepare ground for external interference in the
region's life." The Virk statement said their organization aimed
only at achieving a degree of self-governance within Georgia. The
government in Tblisi appoints all local officials in the region. Virk's
co-chairmen Mels Torosian and Davit Rstakian have urged local Armenians
"not to succumb to provocations."
Meanwhile, an online Russian agency published a report obtained from
an anonymous "group of specialists" which claims that Turkish
special services developed a plan for intervention in Javakheti. The
report claims that Turkey aims to exacerbate relations between Russia
and Georgia, while at the same time provoking a conflict between Armenians
and Georgians in Javakheti. In the end, Turkish forces would move
into Javakheti to protect its transit infrastructure and remove its
Armenian population.
President Robert Kocharian this week expressed his government's concern
about the Armenian community in Georgia. He said that Armenia maintained
a constant dialogue with Georgia on Javakheti and there was a mutual
understanding that the region's problems are socio-economic and not
political in nature. However, the growing Turkish military involvement
in Georgia and Tbilisi's strained relation with Moscow is causing
concerns among Armenians. Armenia relies on Georgia for most of its
export/import shipments and energy deliveries. Regional instability
may jeopardize this route. In an interview last week one Georgian
pundit suggested that Georgia should not allow Russian gas to reach
Armenia, should Russia cut back on supplies to Georgia. |
| March 8- 15 |
The National Assembly's Committee
on Defense and Security this week held hearings to discuss its draft
bill on alternative service. Armenia's law on military draft mandates
that every male citizen must serve a two-year tour in the armed forces,
exceptions and extensions granted for professionals, students and
for health reasons. As part of its Council of Europe (CE) membership,
Armenia has undertaken a commitment to give conscientious objectors
(those refusing to serve on religious grounds) an opportunity for
a non-military alternative service.
According to the chairman of the committee Vahan Hovanisian, the proposal
would allow members of officially registered religious organizations,
who are of call-up age and who refuse to join the military, to undergo
a non-military national service. Such alternative service would last
three-and-a-half years, its exact nature to be further determined
by the government. Those who chose such service would be precluded
from holding posts in the government, law-enforcement or judiciary.
Deputy Defense Minister General Artur Aghabekian expressed concern
over several aspects of the bill and called for its serious revision.
In particular, he suggested provisions that would necessitate monetary
compensation from individuals seeking exemption from the draft, a
measure that would allow the Armenian army to transform itself into
a professional military force.
International human rights organizations have criticized Armenia in
recent years for imprisoning members of the Jehovah's Witnesses who
have violated the law on military service. The law on alternative
service is expected to address these concerns. |
| March 8- 15 |
During their tour of Baku, Stepanakert
and Yerevan last weekend, mediators from the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) suggested that the conflicting parties
return to the format of negotiations they conducted prior to 1997.
At the time official envoys from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh
(NKR) met regularly to look for mutually acceptable ways to resolve
the conflict. The Azeri side withdrew from that process following
the Lisbon Summit in December 1996. Negotiations resumed in 1999,
but in a different format: with Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
negotiating directly.
The French, Russian and U.S. envoys who co-chair the OSCE's Karabagh
task force known as the Minsk Group stressed the need for a systemic
dialogue between the parties. Considering that the direct presidential
talks have in effect come to an end, they have urged the presidents
to designate envoys to continue the peace process. They also suggested
including NKR's representatives in the negotiations, something that
Azerbaijan has opposed. Meeting with mediators on Sunday, Karabagh
President Arkady Ghoukasian praised them for the importance they attach
to NKR's position.
The negotiators were expected to make an official announcement about
the new format of negotiations following a conclave of all Minsk Group
countries expected to take place in Austria later this week. Appointment
of an envoy may present difficulty for the Azerbaijani President.
In most recent talks, Heydar Aliyev negotiated alone, keeping his
immediate subordinates in the dark regarding the content of peace
proposals. According to Azerbaijani press reports, his latest meeting
with the mediators even excluded a note-taker.
Meanwhile, a prominent Azerbaijani commentator suggested that Aliyev
is in a hurry to reach a settlement this year. The tentative agreement
reached by Aliyev and President Robert Kocharian reportedly formalizes
NKR's separation from Azerbaijan, in exchange for its withdrawal from
the buffer zone it now holds. The commentator believes that Aliyev
needs time before the transition of power to his son, to show the
Azerbaijani public benefits from the implementation of such a peace
deal namely, the return of refugees and internationally-financed reconstruction
of the area. Otherwise, the settlement
could be postponed indefinitely beyond the 2003 elections. |
| March 8- 15 |
A delegation of Turkish women visited
Yerevan and Armenian journalists toured Turkey, while academics and
journalists from both nations met at the University of Michigan -
the most recent public diplomacy efforts to facilitate a normalization
of relations between the two neighboring countries. In the decade
since Armenia's independence, Turkey has repeatedly refused Armenia's
offers to establish diplomatic relations. Since the early 1990s, Ankara
has provided key assistance to Azerbaijan in its military aggression
against Nagorno Karabagh, sending military aid and closing the Turkish-Armenian
border.
The Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC) organized
the first of the three events, bringing Turkish journalists, academics,
businesswomen and NGO members to mark March 8, International Women's
Day, with their counterparts in Armenia and spend several days touring
the country. Meanwhile, a group of Armenian journalists, led by the
chairman of the Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardian visited Turkey
to sign an agreement on cooperation with their local counterparts.
They also met with several Turkish politicians, including the ex-President
Suleiman Demirel. In Michigan, Armenian-American academics met with
their Turkish colleagues to resume dialogue that began two years ago
in Chicago. |
| March 15-22 |
A high-level Armenian delegation led
by Defense Minister and Secretary of the National Security Council
Serge Sargsian paid a five-day official visit to the United States
this week for talks with senior U.S. officials. Discussions focused
on options for upgrading bilateral security and military cooperation
and, observers believe, marked a "new era" in the U.S.-Armenia
partnership. The delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Tatul
Margarian, Deputy Defense Minister Maj.-Gen. Artur Aghabekian, and
heads of the Ministry's International Cooperation and Communications
Departments, Maj.-Gen. Mikael Melkonian and Col. Artur Papazian. Before
arriving in Washington, they stopped in New York to visit the site
of the World Trade Center and to lay a wreath in memory of the victims
of last year's terrorist attack.
Talks in Washington focused on Armenia's participation in the U.S.-led
fight against international terrorism and $4.3 million in military
assistance, which the United States will provide to Armenia in FY2002.
In support of the U.S. war on terrorism, Armenia shared intelligence
with the U.S Government and opened its air bases to the U.S. Air Force
for overflights and refueling. Last week, Defense Minister Sargsian
indicated that Armenia's armed forces favor using the U.S. assistance
to upgrade their communications systems and for personnel training.
Following talks with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Director of the Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) Vice Admiral Tom Wilson, the parties signed a joint statement
on "U.S.-Armenian Defense Cooperation." The statement lists
military training, communications and strengthening of Armenia's peace-keeping
capability as the main focus areas for bilateral cooperation this
year. During the week, Sargsian also met with Deputy National Security
Advisor Stephen Hadley, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage
and Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln
Bloomfield. He also visited the National Defense University. The Pentagon
and Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues co-hosted a Capitol Hill
reception for the delegation. Meetings with the Armenian-American
community also took place.
Prior to the visit, Sargsian participated in the inauguration of the
U.S.-funded National De-mining Center located outside Echmiadzin.
The facility, repaired and equipped by the U.S. Government, will annually
train 70 officers and soldiers of the Armenian army in advanced mine-clearing
methods. They are expected to clear many of the thousands of mines
that remain in parts of Armenia affected by the Karabagh war. Civilian
experts contracted by the U.S. Government will launch the program.
This summer, they will be joined by the U.S. Special Forces' de-mining
specialists. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Ordway called the new
center a "project of collaboration" between the two militaries.
He said that it reflected America's strong commitment to Armenia and
was only the first concrete example of the increasing military cooperation
between the two countries. |
| March 15-22 |
An Armenian Government delegation
led by Prime Minister Andranik Margarian was in Mexico this week to
attend the United Nations Conference on Financing for Development.
The event brought together some fifty heads of state, including President
George W. Bush, and senior officials from more than one hundred other
countries. Conference discussions focused on the UN proposal for a
significant overall increase in aid to the third world countries by
wealthier nations. The U.S. and European Union offered to increase
their foreign aid spending.
Speaking at one of the conference events, Armenia's Trade and Economic
Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian urged developing countries
not to blame rich countries and international financial organizations
(IFOs) for their plight. He advocated for determining causes of poverty
and means to alleviate it internally. Chshmaritian also offered to
share Armenia's positive experience of cooperation with IFOs.
Armenia's own foreign debt is over $900 million, primarily with the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund. This year's budget allocates
$50 million to debt repayment. |
| March 15-22 |
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
have accepted the suggestion voiced by the mediators from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) last month and appointed
special envoys for the Karabagh talks. They are Deputy Foreign Ministers
Tatul Margarian and Araz Azimov. Both officials oversee security issues
at their respective ministries and will continue to fulfill those
responsibilities. A statement by Armenia's Foreign Ministry said the
move can "facilitate progress" in the stalled peace process. Most
observers, however, do not believe the new format would lead to a
speedy settlement. Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign
Relations Hovanes Hovanisian suggested that the latest changes were
precipitated by the Azerbaijani President's failing health and the
approaching elections in both countries. According to the French,
Russian and U.S. mediators handling the talks, they will hold regular
meetings with the envoys once every two or three months.
Meanwhile, Nagorno Karabagh's Foreign Minister Naira Melkumian criticized
her Azerbaijani counterpart Vilayat Guliyev for ruling out Karabagh's
inclusion in the negotiations. She recalled that all key agreements
and talks prior to 1997 included Nagorno Karabagh's representatives;
most importantly, the 1994 cease-fire agreement was signed by Speakers
and Defense Ministers of all three parties. Speaking this week at
the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
praised OSCE for its long-held understanding that the peace process
cannot proceed effectively without Karabagh's participation in the
talks.
Oskanian also dismissed recent criticism of the organization's handling
of the Karabagh conflict as "disingenuous and unfair." While a peace
agreement has not yet been reached, Oskanian said that the OSCE's
constant engagement through regular monitoring and shuttle diplomacy
has been key in preserving the 1994 cease-fire. At the same time,
Oskanian urged the OSCE to persuade regional countries, and especially
Azerbaijan, to implement confidence-building measures such as cross-border
water management projects. |
| March 15-22 |
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
have accepted the suggestion voiced by the mediators from the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) last month and appointed
special envoys for the Karabagh talks. They are Deputy Foreign Ministers
Tatul Margarian and Araz Azimov. Both officials oversee security issues
at their respective ministries and will continue to fulfill those
responsibilities. A statement by Armenia's Foreign Ministry said the
move can "facilitate progress" in the stalled peace process. Most
observers, however, do not believe the new format would lead to a
speedy settlement. Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign
Relations Hovanes Hovanisian suggested that the latest changes were
precipitated by the Azerbaijani President's failing health and the
approaching elections in both countries. According to the French,
Russian and U.S. mediators handling the talks, they will hold regular
meetings with the envoys once every two or three months.
Meanwhile, Nagorno Karabagh's Foreign Minister Naira Melkumian criticized
her Azerbaijani counterpart Vilayat Guliyev for ruling out Karabagh's
inclusion in the negotiations. She recalled that all key agreements
and talks prior to 1997 included Nagorno Karabagh's representatives;
most importantly, the 1994 cease-fire agreement was signed by Speakers
and Defense Ministers of all three parties. Speaking this week at
the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
praised OSCE for its long-held understanding that the peace process
cannot proceed effectively without Karabagh's participation in the
talks.
Oskanian also dismissed recent criticism of the organization's handling
of the Karabagh conflict as "disingenuous and unfair." While a peace
agreement has not yet been reached, Oskanian said that the OSCE's
constant engagement through regular monitoring and shuttle diplomacy
has been key in preserving the 1994 cease-fire. At the same time,
Oskanian urged the OSCE to persuade regional countries, and especially
Azerbaijan, to implement confidence-building measures such as cross-border
water management projects. |
| March 15-22 |
Memoirs of a former senior Azerbaijani
law-enforcement official made public this week confirmed long-held
speculations that senior Turkish leaders organized and attempted to
carry out a coup d'etat against President Heydar Aliyev in March 1995.
Author and former first deputy prosecutor-general Isa Najafov, who
handled the investigation, accuses former Turkish Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller of being behind the attempt to remove Aliyev and re-install
the late Abulfez Elchibey. The former Azerbaijani President was elected
in June 1992, following another Turkish-backed coup, and was ousted
a year later by an army mutiny.
The accusations against Ciller, who was Turkey's Prime Minister in
1993-95 and Foreign Minister in 1996-97, were first made by the controversial
Turkish leftist Dogu Perincek as early as in 1996. Perincek's claims
were subsequently confirmed by other Turkish and Azeri officials and
politicians, most recently by Najafov. According to these claims,
Ciller was dissatisfied with Aliyev's policies and colluded with the
elements of Azerbaijan's security forces and political opposition.
Ciller appointed State Minister Ayvaz Gokdemir to oversee the project.
In what appeared to be a joint operation by the elements of Turkey's
National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Security Directorate
of the Interior Ministry, numerous agents arrived in Azerbaijan months
in advance of the March 1995 revolt. The Turkish Embassy in Azerbaijan,
as well as the fascist Grey Wolves organization and organized crime
groups reportedly facilitated these efforts. Their plans began to
falter after Elchibey, at the time in exile in his native village
in Nakhichevan, backed away from leading the would-be post-Aliyev
government.
According to this week's article in a leading Azerbaijani daily, none
of the Turkish perpetrators of the 1995 coup have been punished. According
to the newspaper's sources, nearly all officials involved continue
to work in the Turkish Foreign Ministry or intelligence. Ciller and
Gokdemir now serve as leading opposition deputies in Turkey's Grand
National Assembly. |
| March 15-22 |
Armenia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
continues to increase steadily, with the National Statistics Service
reporting a 5.5 percent growth in the first two months of 2002, compared
to the same period in 2001. Last year, Armenia achieved its strongest
GDP growth since independence - 9.6 percent. In January-February 2002,
industrial production was up 7.6 percent, agriculture - 4.5 percent
and construction - 12.3 percent, with energy generation down by 3.7
percent. Trade turnover rose sharply by nearly 30 percent, with exports
increasing by almost 64 percent and imports by 16.5 percent. Over
the same period, the Service reported a slight drop in registered
unemployment and a modest increase in incomes. |
| March 15-22 |
The number of tourists visiting Armenia
increased by 46 percent last year, according to the National Statistics
Service. Over 120,000 people visited Armenia primarily from Western
and Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East. Last year's
increase came as Armenia marked the 1,700th anniversary of the adoption
of Christianity. To accommodate the expected inflow of visitors, over
a dozen new hotels opened in Armenia last year, most of them in Yerevan.
Still, only about a quarter of all tourists chose to stay at a hotel;
others stayed with friends or rented a private residence. The service
also reported a slight decrease in the number of Armenians who traveled
abroad. |
| March 22-29 |
Returning from a five-day official
visit to the United States, Armenian Minister of Defense Serge Sargsian
told a Yerevan news conference this week that Armenia is strengthening
its defense and security ties with the United States. Sargsian said
the U.S.-Armenia agreement calls for military cooperation in three
areas: training of Armenian officers in the U.S., modernization of
the Armenian armed forces' communications system and U.S. assistance
in building an Armenian peacekeeping battalion. He said the agreement
would "complement" rather than weaken Yerevan's military alliance
with Russia, adding that the U.S. has no intention of replacing Russia
in the region.
During his visit to Washington, Sargsian met with Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld, his deputy Paul Wolfowitz, the director of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, Vice Admiral Tom Wilson and other top government
officials. The U.S. Congress late last year approved $4.3 million
in military assistance to Armenia. The purpose of Sargsian's meeting
was to discuss its disposition.
In Baku, Azerbaijani Social and Democratic Party (ASDP) co-chairman
Zardust Alizada slammed the U.S.-Armenia military agreement, saying
it shows "that the USA is trying to strengthen its influence in the
region." Alizada added that the U.S. "will never protect us" and said
it would be "a mistake to believe that the U.S. will help liberate
Karabagh." |
| March 22-29 |
A new Swiss parliamentary initiative
to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915 has drawn criticism from
the Turkish government. Expressing concern over the Swiss parliamentary
action, senior government minister Tuncay Toskay this week urged the
Swiss government to help maintain "the good relations between the
two countries." The Turkish government summoned the Swiss ambassador
in Ankara to complain while the Turkish ambassador to Switzerland
publicly noted Ankara's concerns.
The Genocide recognition proposal was submitted March 18 and reportedly
signed by 115 out of 201 members of parliament. It is expected to
win approval during a vote scheduled for June 2002. It says in part
that "the National Council recognizes the Armenian Genocide of 1915"
and asks the Swiss government to" take notice of this recognition
and to convey it through regular diplomatic channels."
It concludes: "This new bill is also a contribution for durable peace
between Turks and Armenians, prerequisite to which is that both peoples
share a view based on historical truth."
During his visit to Ankara this week, Swiss Vice President Pascal
Couchepin downplayed the legislation calling it "only a statement."
Couchepin said, "We are aware of the Turkish public opinion's sensibilities
on the issue." However, while he praised Turkey's economic potential,
Couchepin emphasized that Ankara must accelerate its reform programs
in order to overcome its current economic and financial crises. Switzerland
is one of the biggest foreign investors in Turkey, focusing primarily
in the energy sector. The European Union, to which Turkey has applied
for membership as well as several European parliaments, notably France,
Belgium, Italy and Sweden, have recognized the Armenian Genocide.
The European Union has urged Turkey to improve its human rights record
as a condition of membership. |
| March 22-29 |
President of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic Arkady Ghoukasian made a four-day visit to France late last
week for meetings with French officials, NGOs and the local Armenian
community. Ghoukasian thanked French-Armenians for their assistance
in Karabagh's reconstruction and urged them to contribute to re-building
of the main hospital in Stepanakert. The project, estimated to cost
about $3.5 million, is sponsored largely by the Armenian community
of New York. Ghoukasian said that Nagorno Karabagh continues to rely
on the Diaspora's assistance because as an unrecognized country, it
is excluded from normal lending channels.
Ghoukasian visited the French Foreign Ministry for talks on international
efforts to mediate a peaceful settlement in the Karabagh conflict.
He also met with the president of the France-based International Federation
for Human Rights Sidiki Kaba, as well as local political scientists
and journalists.
In his interview with Agence France Presse, Ghoukasian called on the
international community to recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabagh.
He urged Azerbaijani leaders to take steps to overcome the current
antagonism and begin to normalize relations with Nagorno Karabagh. |
| March 22-29 |
Azerbaijan's former Deputy Defense
Minister Colonel Isa Sadykhov has been granted political asylum in
Norway, according to press reports this week. Sadykhov gained notoriety
in Azerbaijan when he publicly called for the resumption of war against
Nagorno Karabagh. Last year, he also criticized the Defense Minister
Safar Abiyev for growing corruption in the Azerbaijani army. He subsequently
came under investigation for errors allegedly committed while commanding
an Azerbaijani army corps deployed along Armenia's northeastern border
in 1992-93. In an interview with a Baku newspaper this week Sadykhov
said he was "tired" of financial difficulties and other harassment
he suffered in Azerbaijan.
After leaving the army in 1995, Sadykhov established the Union of
Reserve Officers (URO), which called for a new military campaign to
gain control of Karabagh. URO representatives said control of Karabagh
should be achieved at any cost, "even if it would require another
100,000 casualties." Azerbaijan lost thousands of soldiers during
the 1991-94 fighting.
Meanwhile, Azeri Defense Minister Abiyev said late last week that
his forces were prepared to fight a new war and could "go even farther"
than the Armenian capital of Yerevan. Armenia's Defense Minister Serge
Sargsian dismissed Abiyev's statement as bravado and said Armenia's
armed forces were ready to defend the country. |
| March 22-29 |
President Robert Kocharian, accompanied
by the Mayor of Yerevan Robert Nazarian, Tuesday officially opened
a major construction project, which will provide a corridor connecting
Theater Square outside the Opera House to the city center, Yerevan's
Republic Square. The construction of the corridor, known as Northern
Avenue, was envisaged in the original 1920s design of the city, planned
by Alexander Tamanian. The privately funded construction, which will
eliminate one of the city's most rundown neighborhoods, is expected
to cost approximately $160 Million and will be completed by 2006.
"A beautiful and comfortable Yerevan will encourage economic
development in the whole country," President Kocharian said,
adding that for each million dollars invested, at least 250 jobs are
created. The president also visited several other construction sites
in Yerevan, including the nearly completed Hotel Congress. |
| March 22-29 |
A deputy speaker of Armenia's parliament,
Tigran Torosian, has called for cooperation among political parties
in order to avoid irregularities in next year's presidential and parliamentary
elections. Speaking to a political club in Yerevan , Torosian, who
is said to be a close associate of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian,
a clean vote will be vital for Armenia's future. He urged the Republican
Party (HHK), a key contender in the parliamentary elections, to join
forces with other major Armenian parties. He noted that an ad hoc
working group has already been established to discuss further reform
of the country's election legislation. Since independence, reports
of vote rigging and other irregularities have plagued many elections.
Meanwhile, Armenia's Central Election Commission asked the government
to take disciplinary action against Harutiun Mkhoyan, outgoing mayor
in the southern town of Armavir. Mkhoyan is suspected of rigging the
outcome of the March 10 mayoralty race. Reports cited inaccuracies
in voter registration. Under Armenian law, the government in Yerevan
may initiate court action against a local administrator for voting
irregularities. |
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