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  • ASBAREZ Online [08-04-2004]

    ASBAREZ ONLINE
    TOP STORIES
    08/04/2004
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    1) Montana's Burns Becomes 40th Senate Supporter of Human Rights Measure
    2) Press Undermined in Azerbaijan, Reports Human Rights Watch
    3) Russian Lawmaker under Fire in Conflict Zone
    4) Azeri Official Declares Armenia Will be Azerbaijan's in Coming Decades

    1) Montana's Burns Becomes 40th Senate Supporter of Human Rights Measure

    WASHINGTON, DC--Montana Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) agreed this week to
    cosponsor the Genocide Resolution, S.Res.164, bringing the number of US
    Senators supporting this human rights measure to forty, reported the Armenian
    National Committee of America (ANCA).
    "I am proud to join with 39 of my Senate colleagues in support of S.Res.164,"
    said Senator Burns in a statement to the ANCA. "This legislation stresses the
    importance of remembering and learning the lessons of past crimes against
    humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and the Cambodian
    and
    Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. Silence in the face
    of genocide only encourages those who would commit such atrocities in the
    future--a legacy which we cannot afford to pass on to our children."
    "Armenian Americans, in Montana and across the United States, join in
    thanking
    Senator Burns for his principled stand in defense of the fundamental right of
    all people to live free from the terrors of genocide," said ANCA-Western
    Region
    Executive Director Ardashes Kassakhian, who traveled to Montana in late
    July to
    meet with members of the state's Congressional delegation, along with local
    community activist Yedvart Tchakerian. "We have been very encouraged, in
    recent
    months, by the increasing effectiveness of our grassroots outreach in the
    Northern Plain states, with Senators from Montana and both North and South
    Dakota supporting the Genocide Resolution, and the governors of Idaho,
    Nebraska, and Montana issuing proclamations commemorating the Armenian
    Genocide."
    The Genocide Resolution marks the 15th anniversary of the US
    implementation of
    the Genocide Convention and reaffirms the commitment of the American people to
    this landmark treaty. It specifically cites the importance of applying the
    lessons of past genocides in order to make the world safe from future
    genocides. Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced this
    measure in June of last year. Its companion measure in the US House,
    H.Res.193,
    led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and
    Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe
    Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee
    last May and currently has 111 cosponsors. On July 15th, the US House
    passed an
    amendment, authored by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), which prohibited the
    government of Turkey from using US foreign aid dollars to lobby against the
    Genocide Resolution.
    Support for the Genocide Resolution has been widespread outside of
    Congress as
    well, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious, civil and human
    rights organizations calling for its passage, including American Values,
    National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox
    Rabbis,
    and the National Council of La Raza.
    For information about Senator Burns, who serves on the powerful Senate
    Appropriations Committee, visit:
    <http://www.burns.senate.gov/>www.burns.senate.gov


    2) Press Undermined in Azerbaijan, Reports Human Rights Watch

    NEW YORK (HRW)-Azerbaijan's government should act now to stop the
    deterioration
    of press freedom underway since the October presidential elections, Human
    Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. Azeri authorities have
    failed to prosecute police responsible for attacks on journalists, imposed
    crippling damages in civil defamation suits, and manipulated resources to
    pressure independent or opposition media outlets.
    "The political crackdown that followed last year's election has had a
    lasting,
    harmful effect on press freedom in Azerbaijan, said Rachel Denber, acting
    executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division.
    "The government can reverse this by finally acknowledging that police have
    used
    excessive force against journalists covering demonstrations, and also by
    capping the crippling damages often levied in defamation suits."
    Azerbaijan's October presidential election, which the Organization for
    Security and Cooperation in Europe called "fraudulent," led to massive street
    demonstrations and excessive police violence to quell them. In the
    aftermath of
    the violence, the government then unleashed a crackdown against the political
    opposition and the independent and opposition media.
    Rapporteurs from the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe's
    Parliamentary Assembly are scheduled to arrive in Azerbaijan today to examine
    Azerbaijan's compliance with its commitments and obligations to the Council of
    Europe.
    The 18-page briefing paper, based on interviews in Azerbaijan with
    journalists, editors, government officials and media rights groups, details
    how
    the security forces attacked journalists during the demonstrations. While
    not a
    single security agent was held responsible, the authorities filed charges
    against an opposition activist who allegedly assaulted a pro-government
    reporter during a demonstration. A journalist for an independent wire service
    who was beaten by police at one of the demonstrations was subpoenaed to
    testify
    in court, but as a witness for the prosecution against opposition members
    accused of the post-election violence. His testimony about police severely
    beating him did not lead to any action against those responsible.
    "Impunity for police violence against journalists gives police a green light
    to use violence again," said Denber.
    Among those currently on trial for organizing the street demonstrations is
    Rauf Arifoglu, editor-in-chief of a leading opposition newspaper, Yeni
    Musavat.
    Human Rights Watch is calling for his immediate release pending the outcome of
    his trial.
    The Azeri government abolished pre-publication censorship in 1998, but has
    since then imposed considerable informal restrictions on the media, which have
    sharpened since last year's election. Government officials or those closely
    connected to the government are invariably the plaintiffs in civil defamation
    suits against independent or opposition media. Prohibitive fines imposed on
    these outlets have forced them to suspend publication, suggesting that the
    courts aimed primarily to cripple or close them.
    Television media is overwhelmingly pro-government. The Human Rights Watch
    briefing paper describes how the government informally manipulates private
    broadcast media, newspaper-distribution networks and printing presses, and
    blocks access to information for journalists working for the independent
    press.
    "Taken together, these are methods of control and intimidation, aimed at
    setting unreasonable restrictions on media content without resorting to formal
    censorship," said Denber.
    Since the election, the Azeri government has taken some measures to rectify
    abuses against journalists. On a joint initiative with the Press Council, a
    nongovernmental umbrella group, it established a permanent commission to
    prevent and resolve conflict between media representatives and the
    authorities.
    "The establishment of the permanent council is a welcome step, but it falls
    far
    short of what's needed to promote a free and independent media in Azerbaijan,"
    said Denber.
    Human Rights Watch called on the Azerbaijan's government to ensure the
    founding of a genuinely independent public television station, abolish
    criminal
    libel, introduce caps on civil libel suits and prosecute those responsible for
    attacks on journalists.
    The briefing paper, Azerbaijan: Media, the Presidential Elections and the
    Aftermath, can be found at www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/2004/


    3) Russian Lawmaker under Fire in Conflict Zone

    (Civil Georgia/Itar Tass)--Georgian Deputy Security Minister Gigi Ugulava
    refuted on August 4, reports that Georgian troops fired on Andrei Kokoshin,
    who
    chairs the Russian Duma's Committee for CIS affairs.
    According to the spokesman for South Ossetia Special Functions Ministry, the
    incident took place in the South Ossetian conflict area, near the village of
    Sarabuk. Pliyev said the car was attacked by Georgia.
    "According to the information available to us, the passengers in the
    car--Andrei Kokoshin and the co-chairmen of the Joint Control Commissions are
    alive," he stated.
    After the car came under fire, Georgian interior troops stationed in conflict
    zone heavily shelled Sarabuk. The village was fired on from a detour road.
    There have been no reports of civilian casualties, the spokesman said.
    Georgia refuted the accounts saying that the Ossetian side opened fire "in
    the
    direction of the Georgian peacekeepers, and the Georgian side responded to
    it,"
    Ugulava told a press briefing. "This will always happen in case of an attack."
    "I declare with full responsibility, this was a provocation masterminded by
    the Ossetian side," Ugulava said, adding that had Georgia been notified of
    Kokoshin's visit to the breakaway region, it would have ensured his security.
    Meanwhile Interfax reported that the Georgian navy is ready to obey President
    Mikheil Saakashvili's order to prevent any vessel--except those on
    humanitarian
    missions--from entering territorial waters near the self- proclaimed republic
    of Abkhazia, Koba Bochorishvili, commander of the Poti marine division of the
    Georgian coast guard service, said on Wednesday.
    "We did receive the president's order that vessels that have violated the
    border should be stopped in territorial waters near the Abkhaz coasts and that
    fire should be opened on them if they disobey orders," Bochorishvili said.
    This
    warning also applies to passenger boats that could travel from Sochi to
    Sukhumi, he said.
    "Fire should be opened on all vessels that enter the Sukhumi port without the
    Georgian authorities' agreement. They should be sunk," the Georgian president
    said at a news conference on Tuesday.
    The Russian Foreign Minister reacted sharply on Wednesday in a statement that
    said any attempts to inflict damage or infringe the lives of Russian citizens
    "will be adequately rebuffed."
    "Official Tbilisi has taken an unprecedented step," the ministry stated.
    "This
    warning is addressed also to Russian tourists who make excursion trips by sea
    from Sochi to Novy Afon and Sukhumi."


    4) Azeri Official Declares Armenia Will be Azerbaijan's in Coming Decades

    BAKU (RFE/RL)--Armenia will cease to exist as an independent state and its
    territory will be incorporated into Azerbaijan over the next three decades, a
    senior Azerbaijani military official was quoted as saying, taking
    anti-Armenian
    rhetoric in Baku to new heights.
    "Within the next 25-years there will exist no state of Armenia in the South
    Caucasus," Colonel Ramiz Melikov, the chief spokesman for Azerbaijan's Defense
    Ministry, said, according to the Baku daily "Zerkalo." "Those people have done
    so many nasty things to their neighbors that they have no right to live in
    this
    region."
    "Modern Armenia is built on historical Azerbaijani lands," he added. "I think
    that in 25-30 years' times its territory will again come under Azerbaijan's
    jurisdiction."
    Melikov was quoted in an extensive "Zerkalo" article that called on the
    Azerbaijani government to promptly restart the war with the Armenians and win
    back Mountainous Karabagh. The Azeri leadership regularly threatens to do just
    that, complaining about the international community's reluctance to end
    Armenian control of the disputed region. The most recent such threat came from
    President Ilham Aliyev last week.
    "Zerkalo" said Azeri military officials believe that their troops are
    prepared
    for renewed hostilities and that "the upcoming war will not be long-lasting."
    "Today the personnel of the Azerbaijani armed forces is not the one that
    existed ten years ago," Melikov said. "We substantially exceed Armenia with
    the
    size of the population and the number of soldiers. Soon the entire world will
    recognize Armenia as an aggressor country. That is why Armenia is now on the
    brink of defeat."
    Armenia has repeatedly dismissed such statements from Baku, saying that
    Azerbaijan would have long resumed the war without a warning had it been
    confident of victory. But its reaction to Aliyev's latest threats was
    unusually
    sharp, with the Armenian Foreign Ministry warning Azerbaijan of "disastrous
    consequences."
    The armed forces of Mountainous Karabagh Republic, on Tuesday, began a
    ten-day
    military exercise which officials say will test their combat-readiness during
    "defensive and counter-offensive operations." The war games followed a call-up
    of army reservists and will involve the use of live ammunition.
    Just last week "Zerkalo" quoted an unnamed Western diplomat in Baku as saying
    that the Azeri society and army are not prepared for war and that the West
    does
    not take its government's threats seriously.


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    (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.

    ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
    academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
    mass media outlets.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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