Tweet
ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
12/21/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <http://www.asbarez.com/>HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ.COM
1) No Other Document on Karabagh Is As Pro-Azeri As Atkinson's Report
2) Minsk Group to Inspect Mountainous Karabagh Territories
3) Sheikh Sultan Inaugurates Armenian Cultural Show
1) No Other Document on Karabagh Is As Pro-Azeri As Atkinson's Report
By Tatoul Hakobian
(AZG)--The former Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov,
dissatisfied with the Parliamentary of Council of Europe's (PACE) latest
report
on the Mountainous Karabagh conflict, wrote a letter to PACE rapporteur David
Atkinson, who authored the report.
Kazimirov, who chaired Russia's mediating mission in Karabagh, particularly
blasted the pro-Azerbaijan nature of the report. "The most important
international documents on Mountainous Karabagh always maintained balance in
order to make it easy for the sides to compromise. None of them has ever been
as single-mindedly pro-Azeri as yours," Kazimirov wrote.
Having visited the Karabagh conflict zone 47 times, Kazimirov, considered an
expert on the conflict, says both Atkinson's report, as well as his
predecessor's Terry Davis's, neglect the history of the confrontation, the
1992-1994 war, and the conflict regulation process.
"Many issues of the conflict resulted from actions on both sides; yet your
approach pins the entire blame on the Armenian side. I am not trying to
justify
the Armenians; I only say that we need to be impartial in assessing the
actions
of both sides. Moreover, it was Azerbaijan that wanted to settle the Karabagh
issue by means of force--that rejected all steps to ease the tension," he
writes.
Kazimirov stresses that Mountainous Karabagh, both in the UN formulas and OSCE
documents, was either directly or indirectly recognized as a side to the
conflict: "Only your formula overlooks this issue and recognizes only Armenia
and Azerbaijan as sides--thus playing into Baku's hands." He recalls that the
OSCE Budapest summit also mentions "three sides" to the conflict.
He criticizes the report's emphasis on the importance of Karabagh's Azeri
community. "Azerbaijan is a side to conflict--not the Azeri population in
Mountainous Karabagh. There is no difference of viewpoints between
Azerbaijan's
and Karabagh's Azeri population," he stresses. "Could it be that it is
appropriate to use the terms, 'London's British community,' 'Baku's Azeri
community,' or 'Moscow's Russian community'?"
Both the Davis and Atkinson reports, Kazimirov writes, refer to the four UN
resolutions on the Karabagh conflict, accenting only demands for the
withdrawal
of Armenian Armed forces. Kazimirov stresses, however, that even having lost
control over their territories, Azerbaijan's leadership persisted in their
attempts to solve the conflict by force. Already having all the four
resolutions of the UN Security Council, Baku directly ignored the chances of
putting an end to hostilities three times.
"Azerbaijan agreed on ceasefire under the threat of all-out defeat and loss of
power--not to implement the UN Security Council's resolutions. The Armenians
also had many problems, but they turned to be more flexible and constructive,"
Kazimirov reminds.
The Russian diplomat concedes that the Armenians did not withdraw forces from
the occupied territories, as stipulated by the UN formula, "But, in fact,
Azerbaijan has not implemented any of the demands put forth by the UN either,
and continue to this day to do nothing. Moreover, they demand that Turkey
maintains its blockade of Armenia, threatens--time after time--to resume the
war, and encourages anti-Armenian hysteria in Azerbaijan--but there is no word
about this [in Atkinson's report]."
Toward the end of his letter, Kazimirov reminds Atkinson that Armenia has full
control over five regions and partial over two--not eight as Atkinson
contends.
He also notes that Azerbaijan also occupies Armenian territories such as
Artsvashen.
Kazimirov ends the letter with hope that a distinguished organization, such as
PACE, will be able to demonstrate a balanced approach in the Karabagh
conflict.
2) Minsk Group to Inspect Mountainous Karabagh Territories
BAKU (Armenpress)--A Minsk Group fact-finding mission to Mountainous Karabagh
in late January will seek to find out whether Armenians inhabit the "occupied
territories," according to the Minsk Group's Russian co-chairman Yuri
Merzlyakov.
Azerbaijan's "525" daily reported that all three Minsk Group co-chairmen will
participate, along with representatives from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and
Finland--all OSCE Minsk Group participating countries.
The Russian co-chairman revealed that the co-chairmen will most likely visit
Yerevan and Baku at the beginning of January to clarify the details of their
visit to Karabagh.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group is
headed by the Co-chairmanship consisting of France, the Russian Federation,
and
the United States, and includes participating countries Belarus, Germany,
Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, as well as Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
3) Sheikh Sultan Inaugurates Armenian Cultural Show
SHARJAH (Sharjah-Welcome.Com)--Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah His
Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, inaugurated on Sunday the
Armenian cultural exhibition at the art district.
The art exhibition, which showcases more than 60 paintings and various other
Armenian artworks, is in celebration of Sharjah's Armenian Cultural Week.
Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Hovik Hoveyan is visiting the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the occasion. During his visit, a memorandum of
understanding between Sharjah and Armenia was signed to consolidate cultural
relations between the two countries and exchange expertise among Armenian and
UAE artists.
The formal inauguration was attended by various officials, among them Chairman
of Sharjah Department of Culture and Information Sheikh Essam bin Saqr Al
Qasimi, Armenia's Ambassador to the UAE Dr. Arshak Poladyan, and
Director-General of the Department of Culture and Information Abullah bin
Mohammed bin Owais.
Dr. Poladyan told Khaleej Times that through the initiative of Armenian
Cultural Week, Sharjah residents will be able to gain more knowledge about
Armenian culture, art, and folklore.
Commending Dr. Sheikh Sultan's proposal, Poladyan said, "Dr. Sheikh Sultan
showed great dedication in organizing and highlighting the Armenian cultural
days in Sharjah--a very well known cultural hub. Armenian Cultural Week will
strengthen the cultural ties between the UAE and Armenia and exchange various
creative ideas between the artists."
Dr. Sheikh Sultan expressed his appreciation of Armenian art while viewing the
exhibition area, where a number of Armenian paintings and carpets are
displayed.
According to the signed memorandum, the upcoming Sharjah Cultural Days
2005 will be held in Armenia.
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.
--Boundary_(ID_xxvSxyZpzrFg5xB9AM/S/g)--
TOP STORIES
12/21/2004
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <http://www.asbarez.com/>HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ.COM
1) No Other Document on Karabagh Is As Pro-Azeri As Atkinson's Report
2) Minsk Group to Inspect Mountainous Karabagh Territories
3) Sheikh Sultan Inaugurates Armenian Cultural Show
1) No Other Document on Karabagh Is As Pro-Azeri As Atkinson's Report
By Tatoul Hakobian
(AZG)--The former Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov,
dissatisfied with the Parliamentary of Council of Europe's (PACE) latest
report
on the Mountainous Karabagh conflict, wrote a letter to PACE rapporteur David
Atkinson, who authored the report.
Kazimirov, who chaired Russia's mediating mission in Karabagh, particularly
blasted the pro-Azerbaijan nature of the report. "The most important
international documents on Mountainous Karabagh always maintained balance in
order to make it easy for the sides to compromise. None of them has ever been
as single-mindedly pro-Azeri as yours," Kazimirov wrote.
Having visited the Karabagh conflict zone 47 times, Kazimirov, considered an
expert on the conflict, says both Atkinson's report, as well as his
predecessor's Terry Davis's, neglect the history of the confrontation, the
1992-1994 war, and the conflict regulation process.
"Many issues of the conflict resulted from actions on both sides; yet your
approach pins the entire blame on the Armenian side. I am not trying to
justify
the Armenians; I only say that we need to be impartial in assessing the
actions
of both sides. Moreover, it was Azerbaijan that wanted to settle the Karabagh
issue by means of force--that rejected all steps to ease the tension," he
writes.
Kazimirov stresses that Mountainous Karabagh, both in the UN formulas and OSCE
documents, was either directly or indirectly recognized as a side to the
conflict: "Only your formula overlooks this issue and recognizes only Armenia
and Azerbaijan as sides--thus playing into Baku's hands." He recalls that the
OSCE Budapest summit also mentions "three sides" to the conflict.
He criticizes the report's emphasis on the importance of Karabagh's Azeri
community. "Azerbaijan is a side to conflict--not the Azeri population in
Mountainous Karabagh. There is no difference of viewpoints between
Azerbaijan's
and Karabagh's Azeri population," he stresses. "Could it be that it is
appropriate to use the terms, 'London's British community,' 'Baku's Azeri
community,' or 'Moscow's Russian community'?"
Both the Davis and Atkinson reports, Kazimirov writes, refer to the four UN
resolutions on the Karabagh conflict, accenting only demands for the
withdrawal
of Armenian Armed forces. Kazimirov stresses, however, that even having lost
control over their territories, Azerbaijan's leadership persisted in their
attempts to solve the conflict by force. Already having all the four
resolutions of the UN Security Council, Baku directly ignored the chances of
putting an end to hostilities three times.
"Azerbaijan agreed on ceasefire under the threat of all-out defeat and loss of
power--not to implement the UN Security Council's resolutions. The Armenians
also had many problems, but they turned to be more flexible and constructive,"
Kazimirov reminds.
The Russian diplomat concedes that the Armenians did not withdraw forces from
the occupied territories, as stipulated by the UN formula, "But, in fact,
Azerbaijan has not implemented any of the demands put forth by the UN either,
and continue to this day to do nothing. Moreover, they demand that Turkey
maintains its blockade of Armenia, threatens--time after time--to resume the
war, and encourages anti-Armenian hysteria in Azerbaijan--but there is no word
about this [in Atkinson's report]."
Toward the end of his letter, Kazimirov reminds Atkinson that Armenia has full
control over five regions and partial over two--not eight as Atkinson
contends.
He also notes that Azerbaijan also occupies Armenian territories such as
Artsvashen.
Kazimirov ends the letter with hope that a distinguished organization, such as
PACE, will be able to demonstrate a balanced approach in the Karabagh
conflict.
2) Minsk Group to Inspect Mountainous Karabagh Territories
BAKU (Armenpress)--A Minsk Group fact-finding mission to Mountainous Karabagh
in late January will seek to find out whether Armenians inhabit the "occupied
territories," according to the Minsk Group's Russian co-chairman Yuri
Merzlyakov.
Azerbaijan's "525" daily reported that all three Minsk Group co-chairmen will
participate, along with representatives from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and
Finland--all OSCE Minsk Group participating countries.
The Russian co-chairman revealed that the co-chairmen will most likely visit
Yerevan and Baku at the beginning of January to clarify the details of their
visit to Karabagh.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group is
headed by the Co-chairmanship consisting of France, the Russian Federation,
and
the United States, and includes participating countries Belarus, Germany,
Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, as well as Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
3) Sheikh Sultan Inaugurates Armenian Cultural Show
SHARJAH (Sharjah-Welcome.Com)--Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah His
Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, inaugurated on Sunday the
Armenian cultural exhibition at the art district.
The art exhibition, which showcases more than 60 paintings and various other
Armenian artworks, is in celebration of Sharjah's Armenian Cultural Week.
Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Hovik Hoveyan is visiting the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the occasion. During his visit, a memorandum of
understanding between Sharjah and Armenia was signed to consolidate cultural
relations between the two countries and exchange expertise among Armenian and
UAE artists.
The formal inauguration was attended by various officials, among them Chairman
of Sharjah Department of Culture and Information Sheikh Essam bin Saqr Al
Qasimi, Armenia's Ambassador to the UAE Dr. Arshak Poladyan, and
Director-General of the Department of Culture and Information Abullah bin
Mohammed bin Owais.
Dr. Poladyan told Khaleej Times that through the initiative of Armenian
Cultural Week, Sharjah residents will be able to gain more knowledge about
Armenian culture, art, and folklore.
Commending Dr. Sheikh Sultan's proposal, Poladyan said, "Dr. Sheikh Sultan
showed great dedication in organizing and highlighting the Armenian cultural
days in Sharjah--a very well known cultural hub. Armenian Cultural Week will
strengthen the cultural ties between the UAE and Armenia and exchange various
creative ideas between the artists."
Dr. Sheikh Sultan expressed his appreciation of Armenian art while viewing the
exhibition area, where a number of Armenian paintings and carpets are
displayed.
According to the signed memorandum, the upcoming Sharjah Cultural Days
2005 will be held in Armenia.
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.
--Boundary_(ID_xxvSxyZpzrFg5xB9AM/S/g)--