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  • Conference seeks peace in former Soviet republics

    The Michigan Daily, MI
    Oct 22 2004

    Conference seeks peace in former Soviet republics

    Photo: Vitaly Naumkian, the director of the International Center for
    Strategic and Political Studies in Russia, speaks at the panel
    discussion "Evolving International Relations and the South Caucasus"
    yesterday at the Alumni Center. (Alexander dziadosz/Daily)


    By Margaret Havemann, Daily Staff Reporter

    Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia, Azerbaijan
    and Georgia have seen their influence in the world increase due to
    their strategic location north of the Middle East and their easy
    access to trade routes on the Caspian Sea.

    However, with this increase in responsibility has come an increase in
    military conflicts, as all three of the former republics of the
    Soviet Union are engaged in wars.

    In order to re-examine the region's problems and discuss what has
    gone wrong in the region in the past decade, the University is
    hosting the International Armenian Conference this weekend. The
    conference on Armenian politics that began yesterday and will end
    Sunday will bring together some 35 scholars, diplomats and
    negotiators from more than 10 countries, including nations in Europe
    and the Middle East.

    `We want to see if the trust between this very diverse group of
    people can be strengthened, so that progress can be made,' Gerard
    Libaridian, a professor of modern Armenian history at the University,
    said during the conference's opening yesterday.

    For the first time in years, diplomats and scholars directly involved
    in creating policies for conflict resolution in the region will come
    together, he said.

    `This is an event that I'm sure many Armenian academics have
    considered organizing, but because of my personal connections, we
    were able to make it happen here at the University of Michigan,' said
    Libaridian, who spent seven years as the senior advisor to Armenia's
    president.

    After almost eight months of planning, Kevork Bardakjian, a
    co-organizer of the conference and the director of the University's
    Academic Programs in Armenian Studies, said many discussions will
    take place that anyone interested in Armenian or Middle East politics
    will find fascinating.

    Members of the Armenian Studies Program, one of the groups hosting
    the conference, hope that it will facilitate a discussion among
    powerful people who will reflect on and perhaps examine the mistakes
    in policy decisions made in the 1990s that led to bloody conflicts
    and unstable governments.

    A civil wars is currently taking place in Georgia, while Armenia and
    Azerbaijan have long been engaged in conflict. Additionally,
    elections in Armenia have been deemed unfair by analysts.

    LSA sophomore Alex Sarkesian considers himself 100 percent Armenian
    although he was born in the United States, and he said on a recent
    visit to the country `I saw the graves of the people who have died
    fighting in the conflicts.'

    `I am attending this conference because, not only is it very
    important for students and the community to become better informed
    about what is going on, but this is an exciting opportunity for
    change.'

    Participants in the panel discussions include Terhi Hakala, Finland's
    ambassador to Armenia; John Evans, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia;
    and Prof. Hossein Seifzadeh of Tehran University in Iran.

    The conference also offers the opportunity for students to meet
    diplomats and scholars and talk with the people whom they have read
    about in textbooks. `This will bring the politics of Armenia to
    life,' Libaridian said.

    Following Libaridian's speech was a panel discussion titled `Evolving
    International Relations and the South Caucaus.' The panel included
    sociology Prof. Michael Kennedy from the University of Michigan,
    Vitaly Naumkin, the director of the International Center for
    Strategic and Political Studies in Russia and international relations
    Prof. Hadi Semati from Tehran University.

    Today's events include a panel discussion titled `The World as Seen
    by the South Caucasus,' from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and one titled
    `The South Caucasus As Seen by the Regional Powers,' from 2 to 3:30
    p.m. All sessions are free, open to the public and take place at the
    Alumni Center, near the Michigan League.
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