Nation

POLITICIANS PRESS FOR RECOVERY OF LANDS

The need for recovering the occupied Azeri territories has come to the fore in Azerbaijan, a country supporting the US-led anti-terrorism drive, since the start of the retaliatory strikes on Afghanistan. Chairman of the Civil Unity Party, MP Igbal Agazadeh thinks the occupation of a another country's territory is a much graver crime than terror. He says it is high time Azerbaijan started military operations to free the occupied lands.

According to Mr. Agazadeh, Azerbaijan must inform the world community of the fact that terrorist groups are trained in the Armenian-occupied Azeri territories.

According to the former foreign minister Tofig Zulfugarov, Azerbaijan has to raise the issue of Armenian terrorism. "We might be heard this time", he said.

ARMENIA DENIES HAVING AZERI POWs IN GARABAGH

A group of Azeri journalists are currently paying the OSCE-organized visit to Armenia and Upper Garabagh. According to the Armenia’s "ArmInfo" news agency, a defense spokesman of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh Republic told a meeting with Azeri journalists that there were no Azeri POWs in Garabagh. Attending the meeting, a representative of the Union of the Missing in Action Vera Grigorian stated that the whereabouts of 610 Armenian nationals were still unknown.

Azerbaijan has information that Armenia holds 883 Azeri nationals in captivity. There are also 4,959 unaccounted for, including 69 children, 320 women and 358 elderly.

INT'L CONFERENCE "STABILITY IN THE CAUCASUS" DUE IN BRUSSELS

The second international conference "Stability in the Caucasus" is due in Brussels October 25-26. The event is being organized by the Turkish department for economic and social affairs, the Caspian Research Program of Harvard University, bp, and Caspian TransCo. The conference will be attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Great Britain, Germany, France, and USA, who will focus on prospects of economic development in the Caucasus, issues of peace, stability and regional security.

PRESIDENT's CHIEF-OF-STAFF TO VISIT IRAN THIS YEAR

President's chief-of-staff Ramiz Mehdiyev is expected to visit Iran on the invitation of this country's Security Council chairman Hasan Ruhani. An exact date of the visit has not been set yet, but the trip is expected before the end of this year.

Asked about Azerbaijan's attitude toward Iran's initiative to hold a meeting of Caucasus Security Council secretaries, Mr. Mehdiyev said the issue had not been discussed yet.

AZERI, RUSSIAN JUSTICE MINISTRIES SIGN CO-OP AGREEMENT

Ministries of Justice of Azerbaijan and Russia have signed a cooperation agreement in Moscow. Signing the document on behalf of Azerbaijan was justice minister Fikrat Mammadov, who was paying a working visit to the Russian capital. The Ministry said Thursday that Mr. Mammadov was taking part in a conference of European justice ministers who centered on joining effort in combating international terrorism.

As part of the visit, Min. Mammadov focused on cooperation prospects with his Turkish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Austrian, and Dutch counterparts.

INDIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER DUE IN BAKU WEDNESDAY

Indian deputy foreign minister Mr. Abkhiankar is expected to pay an official visit to Baku October 17-18. The visit aims to strengthen the existing relations between the two countries. The Indian diplomat is scheduled to meet with Azeri foreign minister Vilayat Guliyev, his deputy Khalaf Khalafov, minister for economic development Farhad Aliyev and other officials, the Indian embassy said on Tuesday.

ELCHIBAY's INDEPENDENCE CONTRIBUTION IN FOCUS

The Union of Intellectuals held an meeting Friday, "Elchibay and independence", which was attended by leaders of political parties, MPs and public figures.

Speakers highlighted the contribution the leader of the national liberation movement Abulfaz Elchibay made to Azerbaijan's independence. It was stressed that Elchibay was a brilliant politician not just of the Turkic world, but also of the entire world.

A documentary film depicting Elchibay's activities, "Envoy of freedom", was demonstrated.

POLITICIANS, JOURNALISTS TO SUE MAYOR's OFFICE

The protest rally "Guarantee freedom of speech", scheduled for October 13, will not take place as the Mayor's office of the capital has refused to issue a sanction on grounds that the rally could be regarded as influence on court. This has been announced in a meeting of leaders of political parties and journalists at the Civil Solidarity Party headquarters. It has been decided to sue the Mayor's office.

SOCIETY OF CAUCASUS ECOLOGY SET UP

A meeting of ecological NGOs of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on October 6-7, as 10 representatives from Azerbaijan took part.

The parties focused on protecting the bio-diversity and environment in the Caucasus. The meeting was organized by local and foreign oil companies active in Georgia with financial support from the Soros Foundation. The participants set up an international society of Caspian ecology. Elected as vice-president of the entity was chairman of the Agricultural Business Association of Ganja Amin Babayev.