Nation

US SCHOLAR TO URGE CONGRESS TO ABOLISH SECTION 907

Director on the Caspian research program education of the John Kennedy Management School under Harvard University, Mrs. Brenda Schuffer visited Baku last week.

In a meeting with the US visitor on Saturday the Azeri foreing miniter said: «Azerbaijan has been shocked by the terror attacks on the US and is ready to cooperate in combating terrorism. But, it would be erroneous to trace terror to any faith»

Thanking the Azeri minister for solidarity and support, Mrs. Schuffer said that Azerbaijan is pursuing a very wise and clear policy. According to her, it is time the US repealed section 907 to the Freedom Support Act. Mrs. Schuffer underscored that Azerbaijan has always abided by the principles of mutual understanding with regard to the US and demonstrated adherence to integration into world nations.

The parties focused on a number of mutually interesting issues during the meeting.

The visit aims to establish contact with state-owned and private universities in Azerbaijan and collect materials for the book "Culture and foreign policy: Islam and Caspian", Mrs. Schuffer told a news conference at "Zerkalo" newspaper Tuesday.

Mrs. Shchuffer voiced her concerns that as a result of the terrorist acts in America the US will start paying less attention to the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict. According to her, the interference of a third party is highly undesirable and the two countries must try to break the deadlock themselves.

The visitor said section 907 does not have a palpable effect on US-Azeri relations. She, however, expressed her readiness to urge the US Congress to abolish it. The section was adopted as a result of enormous pressure on part of US Armenian lobby.

WORLD MUST RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN STATE TERRORISM AGAINST AZERBAIJAN

By Firuza Baymammadqizi Azernews Staff Writer

The Democratic Comngress-1 condemned the terror attacks in the US and voiced sympathy to the families of the victims in a meeting on Monday. The bloc suggested that terrorists and countries harboring them be brought to justice, an international anti-terrorism commission set up and Azerbaijan get actively involved in it.

Chairman of DemCongress-1 Isa Gambar said the bloc considers itself to be a part of an anti-terrorist coalition both from the political and moral viewpoints. DemCongress-1 thinks the ethnic separatism and attempts to redraw the existing borders are another source of terrorism. The world community must be aware of the fact that Armenia is engaged in state-level terror against Azerbaijan, with various Armenian terrorist organizations perpetrating terrorist acts against Azeris, while Upper Garabagh is one of the terror dens. Such international recognition could promote a fair and soonest solution of the conflict, he said.

GUUAM WOMEN's FORUM SET UP

Women representing GUUAM member states signed a memorandum to set up a GUUAM women's forum Saturday in a four-day meeting underway in Baku since September 18. The forum aims to expand the exchange of information and practice, cooperation in women and children rights protection in case of conflicts and at international organizations, etc.

The meeting ended Saturday after its attendees met with President Aliyev and toured to refugee camps to witness their distress.

S AZERBAIJAN LEADER SUPPORTS ANTI-TERRORISM CRUSADE

Terror deserves contempt and condemnation, regardless of the country it is perpetrated in, says Doctor Mahmudali Chehraganli, leader of the South Azerbaijan (Iran) National Liberation Movement.

He said in a statement that Azeris, both in the north and south, have historically been subject to terror on part of Armenians.

"I am proud to say that my nation has never perpetrated or masterminded a terrorist act, but has often been victim of such in Garabagh, Baku, etc. We are ready to be together with the forces fighting against terrorism in any part of the world", Dr. Chehraganli said in the statement.

YOUNGSTERS CONDEMN US TERROR ATTACKS

The Union for Integral Azerbaijan has quoted Iranian media as saying that some 4,000 youngsters with mottoes reading "end to terrorism" took to streets in Tehran last Wednesday to voice solidarity with the US, but were quelled by paratroopers. Some sources allege that the rally had not been sanctioned, while others maintain that it was masterminded by some officials from the Iranian regime.

The troops are said to have intervened only when the protesters started chanting "America, America".

NATIONAL RESISTANCE MOVEMENT CALLS FOR COMBATING ARMENIAN TERRORISM

A National Resistance Movement meeting on Tuesday focused on the terror attacks in the US, describing it as worldwide tragedy. Condemning the insidious attacks, participants said that Azerbaijan has been subject to Armenian terrorism and called on the authorities to fight it. They said national self-defense units should be set up in case Baku refuses to wage an armed struggle against Armenian terror.

ADP INVITES FOR RALLY

The Azerbaijan Democratic Party has issued a statement to all the political parties in Azerbaijan, inviting them to join a protest action on September 29 under the mottoes of "return Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijan", "resolve social economic problems", "down with unemployment", and "freedom to political prisoners".

Mayor's office of Baku has not yet responded to the party's letter for sanction.

SEISMOLOGIST RULES OUT MAJOR QUAKES FOR TWO DECADES

Numerous aftershocks that followed the November 25 earthquake in Baku have led to a conclusion that the epicenter magnitude has fully sbsided, president of the international scientific and research center "Intergeo-Tetis" Elchin Khalilov said in an interview with Azernews Thursday.

According to him, another accumulation of tectonic energy in Absheron is not anticipated earlier than in 25 years.

When asked why his prediction of an earthquake in August fortunately misfired, Mr. Khalilov said: "In early 2001, I named four possible months of higher seismic activity this year: February, May, August and November, for the Alpine Himalayas zone, which includes the Caucasus, Italy, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Central Asia, India and China. February and May did corroborate my forecast, as earthquakes took place in India and other regions in February and in the Caucasus, Romania, China, and Central Asia in late May and early June. The third stage of intense seismic activity, as I believe, was a period from August 20 till September 20. The activity was felt in the zone, though with weaker seismic indications".

The fourth and last period of seismic activity in the Alpine Himalayas zone is expected between November 20 and December 20. However, Bakuvians don't need to worry as powerful quakes are not expected in Azerbaijan in the next two decades.