Nation

Caspian summit draws blank

By Azernews Staff

The summit of the five Caspian leaders that was convened for the first time after the break-up of the Soviet Union to delineate the status of the Caspian gave no fruits.

The Presidents couldn’t even agree on a final statement on the division of the Caspian.

Moreover, the Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov expressed his rage over Azerbaijan’s development of Caspian fields that he sees as disputed, threatening Azerbaijan with war.

"It smells like blood in the Caspian. If Azerbaijan doesn't step back, it may lead to war", the Turkmen President said. Some onlookers in the summit noted that the Turkmen President’s statement was outside both ethic and diplomatic norms.

President Aliyev declined to comment on the Turkmen threats in a news briefing. Yet, the President noted that there is a set median line principle in international practice, while the Turkmen President is striving to divide the sea at his own discretion. He called the summit a very important event, where each Caspian leader set out his stand on the sea's status. Russian President suggested that the next summit be held in Tehran.

The draft declaration that was to be signed was returned to experts for further development after the Presidents found some disputable matters. Even following strenuous work over the draft, the Caspian leaders decided not to sign it. They assigned their foreign ministers to continue working with the document.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have common positions towards the status of the Caspian seabed, as the three nations are keen on dividing the seabed on the principle of each country’s shoreline. Iran claims an equal fifth of the sea, while Turkmenistan is still hesitating to put forth a clear stand.

The Caspian Sea is believed to contain the world’s third largest oil and gas resources.

UN approves Azeri-proposed resolution on the unaccounted for

The 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland approved the resolution "On the unaccounted for" proposed by the Azerbaijan Republic on a consensus basis.

17 states joined the document as co-authors following regular talks held through diplomatic channels. Playing a critical role in the adoption of the resolution were the European Union, the Islamic Conference Organization, the Geneva Conventions dated August 12, 1949 "On protection of war victims", and the government of Switzerland, a depositor of supplementary protocols to the Conventions.

Five thousand Azeri nationals were registered as unaccounted for during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The UN-adopted resolution is believed to be a vital factor for determining the fates of these people and applying international mechanisms and institutions to resolve the problem, the Azeri Foreign Ministry reported Saturday.

The resolution calls on states to adhere to international humanitarian and legal norms in times of military conflicts. It entitles the families of missing people to get information on them and allows the parties to the conflict to start searching for the unaccounted for immediately after military operations are over.

The document reads that the issue of the unaccounted for will be in focus again in the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Commission in 2004 and the UN General Secretary will make a report on the problem.

British expert downplays Armenian genocide

Coordinator of the Caucasus project of London Institute on War Coverage Tom de Wall told a lecture "Western policy in the Caucasus" in Armenia that there had never taken place a genocide of Armenians in Turkey in 1915, Arminfo reported Thursday. According to the British scholar, there are no historic documents available to confirm the alleged massacre. There were some cases of mutual extermination of Armenians and Turks, he says. "The relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan will not get normal until the stereotypes of the two nations are changed" , T. de Wall said. In his words, restoration of Armenian-Turkish relations could contribute to the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. T. de Wall has been working as BCC's political correspondent in Armenia since 2000. He has also written a book "Black garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan at war and peace" dedicated to the Garabagh conflict and political situation in the South Caucasus. The book will be published in late 2002 at the publishing house of New York University, Arminfo reported.

Azerbaijan offers aid to Georgia's quake victims

Azerbaijani President Aliyev phoned his Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze Friday to express his condolences over human losses in the wake of an earthquake that hit Georgia Thursday. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan was ready to render any assistance for disaster relief. The damage the quake has inflicted is still to be known and it is difficult to predict Georgia's emergency needs, according to the Georgian embassy in Baku. Azerbaijan is going to help Georgia with tents, fuel and foodstuffs, the Cabinet of Ministers said Friday.

A quake measuring 6 points battered the capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi, killing 5 people and injuring 20, with devastation reported.

Armenian, Azeri born MPs clash in Georgian parliament

A fistfight broke out in the Georgian parliament Wednesday, when one of the Armenian born MPs invited the parliamentarians to the Armenian Drama Theater in Tbilisi to witness an undertaking to mark April 24, a date Armenians allege as the day of their genocide. Azeri born MPs in the Georgian parliament opposed the proposal. Seeing that the Armenian parliamentarian didn't want to leave the rostrum and wished to have the parliament pay tribute to the victims of the fabricated genocide, Azeri MP used force. The confrontation grew into a fight between Azeri and Armenian parliamentarians. The Azeri MPs stated that if the Georgian parliament accepts the proposal of the Armenian parliamentarian, 500,000 Azeris living in Georgia will express distrust in the country's legislative body. The parliamentary session was then suspended.

Ethnic Azeri leader leaves for Turkey

Leader of the National Awakening Movement of South Azerbaijan, Iran Dr. Mahmudali Chehraganli held a news conference at the Press Club of Baku Tuesday, saying that he had held some 200 meetings at various political parties, with media and the intelligensia in Azerbaijan during his 46 day-long stay. He highly appreciated the meetings where he voiced the wishes of the Azeris in South Azerbaijan. Mr. Chehraganli is leaving for Turkey Wednesday prior to his visit to Europe. Asked when the active work would start in South Azerbaijan, the ethnic Azeri leader said people were a major force and they had already awaken, as the movement would reach its peak in three years. "No force can defeat our people", he said.

Turkic awards for contribution conferred

The "Turk Tora Ojagi" center awarded a group of science and arts figures in a ceremony at the Europe Hotel of Baku late in April. Head of the center Elkhan Garakhanli said it was established in 1999 in a bid to study the history, customs and rituals of Turkic peoples and seek ways of unification of the Turkic world. The center awards people who have contributed to the Turkic world. Getting the awards were leader of the National Liberation Movement of South Azerbaijan Mahmudali Chehraganli, poet Vaghif Bayatli Oner, etc.