Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ASBAREZ Online [04-07-2004]

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ASBAREZ Online [04-07-2004]

    ASBAREZ ONLINE
    TOP STORIES
    04/07/2004
    TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
    WEBSITE AT <http://www.asbarez.com/>HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ.COM

    1) New Karabagh Envoy for US, Abiyev Ties Unstable Armenia to Renewed War
    2) ANCC, Canadian Foreign Ministry Reps Take-up Timely Issues
    3) Krakow Armenian Officials Tell Turkey to Keep Distance on Monument Issue
    4) Russian Official Injured in Georgia Explosion
    5) Fierce Fighting Sweeps Iraqi Cities

    1) New Karabagh Envoy for US, Abiyev Ties Unstable Armenia to Renewed War

    YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The United States will soon appoint a new chief
    negotiator in
    the long-running international efforts to resolve the Mountainous Karabagh
    conflict, official Azeri sources revealed on Wednesday, citing the US
    ambassador in Baku.
    Azeri news agencies quoted Ambassador Reno Harnish as telling Defense
    Minister
    Safar Abiyev on Tuesday that Steven Mann, Washington’s special representative
    to the Caspian Sea region, will soon take over as the new US co-chair of the
    OSCE Minsk Group. Harnish said he hopes that the appointment will give new
    impetus to the stalled Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. No other details were
    reported.
    In his current capacity, Mann has for years focused on the development of
    Azerbaijan’s and Kazakhstan's Caspian oil and natural reserves by Western
    multinational companies. He also successfully lobbied on behalf of the US
    government for the ongoing construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
    that will pump Azerbaijani and possibly Kazakh oil to the Turkish
    Mediterranean
    coast.
    The multibillion-dollar oil projects, seen as reducing the ex-Soviet states’
    dependence on Russia, have been a key motive for the close US involvement in
    the Karabagh peace process. The Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact around
    Karabagh lies only several dozen kilometers south of the nearest section of
    the
    future pipeline.
    Meeting with the US envoy, the Azerbaijani defense chief accused the Armenian
    side of trying to “obstruct” the $2.5 billion work on the pipeline.
    Abiyev also claimed that rising political tensions in Armenia make a renewed
    war in Karabagh more likely. “Should the government lose control over the
    domestic situation, a war may break out,” he said. As a defense minister, I
    see
    this and warn the public. We must be always ready to defend the territorial
    integrity of our state.”
    The US State Department has not yet officially announced Mann’s upcoming
    appointment. An Armenian diplomatic source suggested that the information
    provided by Harnish was not meant for publication by the Azeri government.
    The current US co-chair of the Minsk Group, Rudolf Perina, has held the post
    since September 2001. Perina and his Russian and French counterparts were due
    to preside over an important meeting between the Armenian and Azeri foreign
    ministers which was scheduled to take place in Prague late last week. The
    talks
    were canceled at Baku’s request.
    This was followed by the weekend dismissal of Vilayat Guliyev, Azerbaijan’s
    tough-talking foreign minister. Azerbaijani commentators said Guliyev’s
    replacement, career diplomat Elmar Mamedyarov, will be more pliant to
    President
    Ilham Aliyev.


    2) ANCC, Canadian Foreign Ministry Reps Take-up Timely Issues

    OTTAWA--Representative of Canada’s foreign ministry and Armenian National
    Committee of Canada (ANCC) met on April 2 at the ministry building in Ottawa.
    ANCC representatives, Chairman Jirayr Basmadjian, and Toros Dimitian held a
    two-hour meeting with the ministry’s Director General David Preston, and Peter
    Curtis who heads Canada’s Armenia relations office.
    Although ANCC representatives stressed the importance of current government
    efforts to create dialogue between Canada’s minorities, they nevertheless
    expressed concern about the timing of move that coincides with the vote in the
    Canadian House of Commons on the Armenian Genocide.
    Efforts for potential dialogue--presumably between all minorities--could
    possibly overshadow the motion on the Armenian Genocide due for a vote in late
    April.
    Although the Canadian government opposes the use of the word “genocide,”
    explained Preston, it also opposes a vote against motion, and will allow each
    member of its party to rule their conscience on the issue.
    ANCC representatives detailed the necessity of establishing a Canadian
    embassy
    in Armenia, considering the vast Canadian Armenian community.
    They also covered the political situation in the Caucasus, specifically the
    absurdity of attempts to regulate the Karabagh conflict without the
    participation of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) in negotiations.
    Though the meeting participants did not agree on all matters, they
    nevertheless agreed that the talks were constructive and beneficial.
    Preston and Curtis requested a follow-up meeting in the near future with ANCC
    representatives.


    3) Krakow Armenian Officials Tell Turkey to Keep Distance on Monument Issue

    YEREVAN (Arminfo)--A Monument to the Victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915
    has been erected in Krakow, Poland, and will officially be unveiled on April
    17.
    There has been some degree of controversy surrounding the monument, with the
    Turkish embassy in Poland repeatedly coming out against the use of the word
    “Genocide” on the Monument.
    Not surprised by the move, Armenia’s ambassador to Poland Ashot Hovakimyan,
    said the time will surely come for Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide,
    and suggested that a monument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian
    Genocide
    be erected in Istanbul.
    Hovakimyan thanked Krakow authorities for their ability to brave the
    onslaught
    of protests by Turkish diplomats, and expressed confidence that the incident
    would not bring about a cooling off of Turkish-Polish relations. “The more
    Poland knows about Turkey, the better,” Hovakimyan added.
    The Archimandrite of the Krakow Monastery Tadeush Isakakyan-Zaleski, in an
    open letter to the Turkish Ambassador, stated that any self-respecting
    historian could not but confirm the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide,
    and that disputes around the word “Genocide” are senseless. He also asked the
    Ambassador to stay out of the issue.


    4) Russian Official Injured in Georgia Explosion

    TBILISI (AP)--The commander of Russian forces in the former Soviet republic of
    Georgia was injured in a bomb blast Tuesday night, officials said Tuesday.
    Gen. Alexander Studenikin was taken to a hospital with injuries that are not
    believed to be life-threatening, Georgian deputy prosecutor Kakha Koberidze
    said.
    Koberidze said the blast occurred as the general walked to his home from the
    Russian troops' headquarters in the capital Tbilisi, on territory under
    Russian
    control. He said preliminary information indicates it was set off by remote.
    The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Studenikin was injured in an
    explosion,
    the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
    Russia maintains two bases and about 5,000 troops in Georgia as holdovers
    from
    the Soviet era when the republic was a key element in the Kremlin's military
    strategy. It has about 150 tanks, 240 armored vehicles and 140 artillery
    pieces
    on the bases.
    After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia withdrew troops from two other
    bases, and Georgia has been pushing for the withdrawal of the remaining two.
    Moscow has said the withdrawal could take from seven to 11 years, but Georgia
    has pressed for complete pullout in three years.
    The Georgians have been nervous that Moscow might use the bases to support
    the
    defiant leader of Ajaria, the Black Sea province which has been reluctant to
    cede any powers to Georgian central authorities. One of the Russian bases is
    located in Ajaria.
    Despite the tensions over the bases, Russia-Georgian relations have shown
    signs of thawing since Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was elected in
    January, after Eduard Shevardnadze resigned under pressure of mass public
    protests.
    Georgian Security Council secretary Vano Merabishvili said he suspects those
    developments could be behind the bombing.
    "I think that this has happened because there's been an improvement in
    relations recently between Georgia and Russia and our enemies don't like warm
    relations between our countries," he said.
    Koberidze said the explosion would be investigated jointly by Georgian and
    Russian authorities.


    5) Fierce Fighting Sweeps Iraqi Cities

    "OUR RESOLVE IS FIRM; OUR RESOLVE IS UNSHAKABLE AND WE WILL PREVAIL"
    --WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN SCOTT MCCLELLAN

    FALLUJA (Reuters)--US-led forces are battling Sunni Muslim guerrillas and a
    spreading Shi'ite uprising, as Iraqi anger was inflamed by a blast in the
    grounds of a mosque that witnesses say killed 25 people.
    In the last three days 35 American and allied soldiers and at least 200
    Iraqis
    have been killed in some of the heaviest fighting since the fall of Saddam
    Hussein nearly a year ago.
    The spiraling two-front war, with new flashpoints flaring across the country
    as backers of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr take up arms, is calling
    into question US plans to transfer sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.
    US President George W. Bush--campaigning for re-election in November with
    opinion polls showing plunging support over Iraq--held phone talks with close
    ally Prime Minister Tony Blair, but officials dismissed any suggestion of a
    crisis.
    But some countries with troops in Iraq signaled the situation was growing
    serious. Ukrainian troops pulled out of the eastern city of Kut after clashes
    and regrouped at a base camp. Japan said its troops would suspend
    reconstruction work in Samawa, in the south, because of security concerns.
    Battles raged between US Marines and guerrillas in the Sunni towns of Falluja
    and Ramadi west of Baghdad.

    NEW US "CASUALTIES"

    A US military spokesman said there were five Marine "casualties" in
    Falluja on
    Wednesday, but it was not clear if any had been killed.
    In Falluja, witnesses said the office of a Muslim organization in the grounds
    of a mosque was hit by a rocket. Local residents said at least 25 people were
    killed.
    A US official at the Pentagon said a bomb had been dropped but "did not hit
    the mosque--that was made very clear to us".
    In a small alleyway in the back streets of Ramadi, a dozen Iraqis crouched on
    the floor of a house, sheltering from gunfire as Marines and masked insurgents
    fought outside.
    In a room close by, women and children were crying.
    Mosques broadcast calls for a holy war against US troops, blasts echoed
    across
    the town and black smoke rose from a building blocks away.
    Twelve Marines were killed on Tuesday in a seven-hour battle in
    Ramadi--one of
    the costliest single losses for US forces since the war that toppled Saddam
    began last March.
    A US soldier was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Baghdad on
    Wednesday, bringing to 443 the number of US troops killed in action in Iraq
    since last year's invasion.
    Since Sunday, clashes across Iraq have killed 33 US troops, a Ukrainian
    soldier and a Salvadoran soldier.

    MAJOR US OPERATION

    The US military launched a major operation this week to secure Ramadi and
    Falluja, where four US private security guards were killed last week and their
    bodies set ablaze and mutilated by a jubilant crowd of Iraqis.
    North of Baghdad, a US helicopter landed after being hit by gunfire. The US
    army said there were no casualties.
    Followers of Sadr have fought running battles with US-led forces in the
    southern cities of Nassiriya, Amara, Kut, and Kerbala.
    An aide to Sadr told a news conference some US soldiers had been captured in
    the fighting.
    "Some tribes have captured some occupation forces on the streets," Qays
    al-Khazali told a news conference in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.
    US military spokesman, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, said US-led forces
    would destroy Sadr's Mehdi Army militia and that the cleric would be arrested.
    "In the central and southern regions of Iraq the coalition and Iraqi security
    forces are conducting operations to destroy the Mehdi Army," he said.
    The upsurge in violence has prompted critics of Bush to suggest US forces
    face
    a Vietnam-style quagmire.
    Bulgaria summoned ambassadors of the United States, Britain, Spain and Poland
    to the foreign ministry on Wednesday asking for back-up for 450 Bulgarian
    soldiers stationed in Kerbala.
    The base has come under attack several times by Shi'ite militiamen, and a
    Bulgarian civilian truck driver was killed in an attack on a convoy in
    southern
    Iraq on Tuesday.
    Sadr has appealed to all Iraqis, whatever their religion, to help expel the
    US-led occupying forces.
    "This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the
    occupation and they will not accept oppression," he said in a statement on
    Tuesday.
    Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Wednesday condemned the
    way US-led forces were tackling the uprising and called for calm on all sides
    and an end to violence.
    Bush has vowed the campaign by Sadr's supporters would not derail
    Washington's
    plans.
    "We will pass sovereignty on June 30," he told a rally in Arkansas on
    Tuesday.
    "We're not going to be intimidated by thugs and assassins."
    A US opinion poll on Monday showed support for Bush's handling of Iraq at a
    new low of 40 percent, with 44 percent wanting US troops withdrawn.


    All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
    and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
    subscription requests.
    (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
Working...
X