From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Mon Nov 11 2002 - 09:36:25 EST
CASPIAN NEWS AGENCY
CNA all-inclusive newsline
/15:19 10.11.2002/ Kyrgyz and US Defense Ministers stressed necessity of expansion
of bilateral military cooperation
Bishkek, November 10, 2002. (CNA)Defense Minister of Kyrgyzstan colonel-general
Esen Topoyev visits the United States of America. On November 7 the Kyrgyz Defense
Minister met with U.S. Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld in the Defense Department
of USA, Kabar reports. In the course of the meeting, the sides exchanged opinions
on current situation in the region, perspectives of development of bilateral
relations between military departments. The US Defense Minister once more expressed
gratitude for active participation of Kyrgyzstan in antiterrorist coalition,
placing foreign military men at the airport "Manas" near Bishkek, the capital of
Kyrgyzstan. Later Minister E. Topoyev met with assistant of the US President S.
Hadly in the U.S. Security Council and Deputy State Secretary of USA R. Armitadj in
the U.S. State Department, where was signed the Agreement between NATO
state-participants within the framework of a program "Partnership in the name of
peace". On November 8, 2002 Minister of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic E. Topoyev
negotiated with the Commander-in-chief of Tampa, Florida.
______
/15:17 10.11.2002/ OSCE chief hails Central Asian leaders work in fighting
terrorism
Moscow, November 10, 2002. (CNA). The OSCE chairman-in-office, Portuguese Foreign
Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz gave a high assessment of the results of his
four-day visit to a number of Central Asian states: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and
Turkmenistan, RIA news agency reported. The assessment in particular applies,
according to the OSCE secretariat in Vienna (Austria), to stepping up the fight
against international terrorism and extremism. Martins da Cruz noted the positive
contribution made by Astana (the Kazakh capital), Tashkent (the Uzbek capital), and
Asgabat (the Turkmen capital) in the fight against terrorism and cooperation with
the OSCE on the mentioned issues. Da Cruz thinks the leaders of these states
support the OSCE priorities on creating security and stability in the Central Asian
region, and also the further advancement of the process of democratization of
society and creating preconditions for an effective market economy. He (da Cruz)
said his visit to three Central Asian states turned out to be very productive and
useful, and opinions expressed at meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan will be taken into account in drawing up an OSCE
charter on the fight against international terrorism and extremism, which is to be
adopted at the council of foreign ministers of the OSCE member states in the
Portuguese town of Porto on 6-7 December.
______
/15:04 10.11.2002/ The Asian Development Bank is expected to allocate a total of
22m dollars to Azerbaijan under a project "Measures against flooding"
Baku, November 10, 2002. (CNA). The Asian Development Bank is expected to allocate
a total of 22m dollars to Azerbaijan under a project "Measures against flooding".
The project signed by the ADB and the Azerbaijani government envisions eliminating
the consequences of economic and ecological damage inflicted by floods in
Azerbaijan. The assistance will extend to a large area of Saki, Zaqatala, Qusar,
Oguz, Ismayilli, Goycay, Qax, Qabala, Agsu, Astara, Balakan, and Naxcivan, the
Financial Times reports.
______
/15:02 10.11.2002/ Kazakhstani hunger-striking opposition journalist force fed
Alma-Ata, November 10, 2002. (CNA). An opposition journalist who went on a hunger
strike after being detained in Kazakhstan on rape charges has been force fed
because his health was in danger, his lawyer said. Sergei Duvanov, editor of the
bulletin of the International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law and a member
of the democratic opposition in this former Soviet republic, was accused of raping
an underage girl, the Associated Press says. Duvanov has denied the charge and went
on a hunger strike shortly after he was detained on Oct. 28. He was officially
charged with the crime on Wednesday. Attorney Vitaly Voronov said his client told
him he was force fed by prison medical personnel Thursday night, and the head of
the medical unit confirmed they will repeat the procedure to keep Duvanov alive.
Duvanov is the author of a series of critical articles about Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev on the Internet, including one that explores allegations that
the president and members of his entourage funneled government funds into Swiss
bank accounts for personal use. The article prompted Kazakhstan's security service
to open a criminal investigation of Duvanov this summer on allegations of insulting
the honor and dignity of the president. Duvanov is now accused of raping a
14-year-old girl who visited his home after his neighbors asked to use his
Russian-style sauna. He has denied the charges, saying he was drugged with a glass
of tea he drank after the neighbors left and then lost consciousness. He was
detained on the eve of a planned visit to the United States, where he was to have
visited think tanks, Radio Free Europe and a journalists' rights group. After
Duvanov's arrest, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States
has raised concerns about "the pattern of harassment and abuses of journalists" in
Kazakhstan. In August, Duvanov was attacked by unidentified assailants who beat him
and slashed him with a knife, leaving him with cuts and bruises over most of his
body. Supporters who visited him in jail Wednesday said his condition had worsened
dramatically from the hunger strike, and on Friday urged him to end his fast.
______
/14:59 10.11.2002/ Oil transfer through Iran can benefit Azerbaijan and the region,
leader of Azerbaijan Social Democrat Party considers
Tehran, November 10, 2002. (CNA). One of the leaders of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Social Democrat Party, Zartosht Alizadeh deemed the transfer of oil through Iran as
profitable to Baku and the region, IRNA reported on Thursday. In an analysis issued
on Thursday in Russian language paper The Modern Times, Alizadeh wrote, "By
accepting the West's dominance, the government in Baku avoided the transfer of oil
from the economically-profitable Iran route and under the U.S. pressures
reconsidered its other energy plans." "The government in Baku is not enjoying real
independence, because the imposed politicians accepted the White House and West's
orders as they did the Communists' and the Kremlin's and deprived the country of a
huge profit", the paper added. "At the beginning, even the Western companies also
studied the Iranian route carefully, because as against to the Baku-Ceyhan route,
it's construction was possible with the least costs", wrote the Azeri Social
Democrat Party official. "By keeping Iran away from the regional energy plans,
Republic of Azerbaijan was deprived of its resources that could be used for its
national interests," the same paper wrote.
______
/14:30 10.11.2002/ Indian company acquires stake in Caspian Oil pipeline project
New Delhi, November 10, 2002. (CNA). Focused on becoming a player in the world
energy market, India, in partnership with Turkey, has acquired a foothold in a $4.2
billion pipeline project that will bring the Caspian Sea oil to the Mediterranean
coast, reported local media on Thursday. According to the Hindu, a New Delhi-based
English-language daily, India will participate in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)
pipeline project that will bring crude oil from Azerbaijan in the Caspian zone to
Ceyhan, on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. The BTC pipeline, which has been on the
drawing board since 1997, is being built under considerable U.S. pressure. Keen on
denying Iran any leverage in the transportation of oil and gas from Central Asia
and the Caspian area, Washington has insisted that new transportation corridors
that are being drawn from this resource-rich region should avoid Iranian territory,
even if this temporarily adds to transportation costs. The move to isolate Iran has
benefited Turkey, Washington's trusted North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, as
the latter will now become a key gateway for exporting a part of the huge Caspian
reserves, estimated at 230 billion barrels. The groundbreaking ceremony for the
project took place on September 20 at the oil terminal of Sangachal on Azerbaijan's
Caspian shore. The BTC pipeline, prior to entering the Turkish territory, will also
pass through Georgia, reported IRNA. Punj Lloyd, a New Delhi-based company, in
partnership with a Turkish firm, Limak, has bagged the order for constructing 332
km of the pipeline, out of a total length of 1,750 km. The joint venture where both
sides will together chip in $93.5 millions will involve construction of the
pipeline from the Turkish town of Ulas to the Ceyhan terminal. The Indian firm will
mainly oversee construction, especially with an eye on preventing ecological damage
and pool in machinery with its counterpart, while most of the 900-strong workforce
will be Turkish. The Ulas-Ceyhan stretch of the pipeline will cut across hazardous
terrain, which will involve bisecting seven rivers and negotiating the steep
Kocadag and Taurus mountain ranges. The BTC pipeline project, which is under the
management of an international consortium led by BP oil and the State Oil Company
of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), is expected to transport 800,000 to one
million barrels a day at its peak. Other oil majors involved in the project include
the French TotalFinaElf and Italy's ENI, and there have been reports that the U.S.
energy giant Chevron is also negotiating for a stake. Apart from the BTC, the
India-Turkey energy cooperation also includes oil exploration as India's Oil and
Natural Gas Commission (VIDESH) and Turkish Petroleum Company TPAO have decided to
jointly look for oil in Libya. India's recent efforts to become an international
energy player include participation in the Sakhalin project in Siberia, Russia,
where it has pitched in $1.1 billion. It is currently negotiating a deal for
tapping oil in the promising Kurmangzy field in Kazakhstan.
______
/14:28 10.11.2002/ Joint Turkmen-Uzbek Governmental commission discussed a number
of bilateral cooperation issues
Ashkhabad, November 10, 2002. (CNA). Correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru informs from
Ashkhabad that a governmental delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the Vice Prime
Minister Rustam Yunisov arrived in Ashkhabad for participation in the work of joint
commission. The accord about the meeting and about the scope of issues need to be
discussed was reached recently during the phone conversation between the leaders of
the both neighboring states Saparmurat Niyazov and Islam Karimov.
The Turkmen-Uzbek commission discussed important directions of interaction of the
both states in difference spheres of economy - oil and gas complex, water
resources, transport, trade partnership as a whole, border trade etc. The sides
widely shared the importance of creation of favorable environment for cooperation
in all sphere. During the intergovernmental dialogue the sides are to discuss
provisions of the projects of the Agreement on economic cooperation between the two
states, which the sides will sign till the end of this year.
______
/14:26 10.11.2002/ The service sectors of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan will
start to be privatized shortly
Baku, November 10, 2002. (CNA). The service sectors of the State Oil Company of
Azerbaijan will start to be privatized shortly, SOCAR President Natiq Aliyev told a
traditional Friday news conference at the New Azerbaijan Party. Since being a
difficult process, the value and market prices of SOCAR oil and gas installations
will be studied first.
Mr. Aliyev spoke of the implementation of the oil strategy since 1993 and large
portions of investment in the country's economy, Financial Times reports.
______
/14:25 10.11.2002/ Armenia introduced system of provision of entrance visa to
Armenia through the Internet
Yerevan, November 10, 2002. (CNA). The introduction of the provision of entrance
visa to Armenia through the Internet produces the first results. During the first
days of the implementation of this program, which was designed by the Foreign
ministry, 7 people obtained the tourist visas through the Internet - one from
Germany and six from the United States. They are mainly diaspora Armenians. It is
noteworthy, that Armenia is the second country in the world after Australia, which
made the entrance visas available using electronic means. The Armenian ArmTV
reports that the electronic way of obtaining entrance visas is used starting from
October 31st of this year.
______
/14:21 10.11.2002/ Sturgeon fishing in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea
will be surged from 5.3% to 12.85%
Baku, November 10, 2002. (CNA). A working group to increase the quota for sturgeon
fishing in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea has introduced proposals to
the "Water biological resources of the Caspian" commission consisting of five
Caspian states to surge Azerbaijan's quota for sturgeon fishing from 5.3 percent to
12.85 percent. The commission is expected to consider the proposal by the end of
this year, the Rinancial Times reports.
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