From: farid@mem.odu.edu (F. H. Miandoab)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: -->>> News - Azerbaijan <<<--
Date: 30 Sep 92 04:28:32 GMT
Reply-To: Turkish Cultural Program List <TRKNWS-L%USCVM.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU>
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

The following news from Turan News Agency in Baku-Azerbaijan
is brought to you as a service of the:

                  <Azerbaijan Aydinlig Association>
                         P.O. Box 14571
                       Berkeley, CA 94701
                      FAX: (804) 490-3832
                    Email: farid@mem.odu.edu

P L E A S E make a hard copy available to an Azerbaijani near you!
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   COMBATS ARE GOING ON IN THE DIRECTION OF AGDAM AND KHOJAVEND

    BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: Press-centre of the azeri defence
ministry reports that armenian side lost many soldiers, 5
tanks and 7 pieces of ordnance seized in the yesterday's combats
for khojavend (former martuni).
   To avoid heavy casualties in the intensive armenian shelling,
azeri sub-units retreated from the settlement of khojavend yesterday
evening.
   In the direction of agdam the combats are going on for the
villages of khanabad and gyulabli.
   Last night, along the azeri-armenian border it was relatively
calm, with the exception of the region of tauz of azerbaijan
which was shelled from the armenian positions in the region of
berd.--0--


   THE SOCHI CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT ON THE BRINK OF BREARDOWN

     BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: Azeri defence minister rahim gaziyev
questions the sochi ceasefire agreement (which calls for a
ceasefire in nagorno-karabakh starting from 24.00 /Local
time/ on september 25) would ever come into force.
    The minister says the ceasefire agreement may have an effect
only after a ceasefire mechanisn is worked out. But by
september 23, the republic of armenia has still not sent her
representatives to moscow to elaborate such a control mechanism.
    A group of azeri experts, headed by the deputy defence
minister r. Kyazimov has for the forth day been waiting for an
armenian delegation in moscow.--0--


   NATO INSPECTORS NOT ALLOWED INTO ARMENIA

    BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: Diplomatic circles informed turan
agency of a group of high-level officials meeting in a session
at the brussels's nato headquarters to discuss the arrangements
for the vienna forum of csce for security in europe.
    While discussing the mechanism of implementation of the
agreement on limitation of armed forces in europe, the officials
stressed their deep concern caused by armenian refusal to allow
nato inspectors into the republic, which, as the session's
participants declared, might create a bad precendent.
   Armenian demarche is a manifistation of the republic's
defiance of her liabilities to international organizations,
because those states signing the agreement on limitation of armed
forces in europe, have no right to refuse nato fact-finding
missions to enter the state.--0--


   BBC TEACHES AZERIS ENGLISH

     BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: Azerbaijani tv will start to
broadcast the programmes for accelerated teaching english soon.
     Broadcasting of the programmes is financed by the
bp/statoil alliance together with bbc.
     Additionally, business-courses in english are going to be
offered in baku. Mr.Pavlovich, editor-in-chief of the bbc
information centre, says  bbc is planning to open similar
courses in many countries all over the world.--0--


   BILL ON PENSIONS RATIFIED

    BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: National council of the azeri
parliament ratified a bill on pension provision for the azeri
citizens.
    The bill guarantees pensions to all levels of the azeri
population without regard to their former professions and meets
the requirements of the analogous bills of democratic states.
    Under the bill, the pension age is fixed at 60 for men and
55 for women.
    According to statistical data, 23 per cent of more than 7
million strong azeri population are pensioneres. This is the
highest showing among the states of the former ussr. Experts are
linking this fact to the longer life in azerbaijan. For example,
the number of pensioneres in russia accounts for 17 per cent.
    Up to the end of this year, azeri goverment is going to
increase the minimum pension level from 700 to 1,200 rubles a
month, but even this rise in pensions will not help the elderly
to meet inflation.--0--


  EIGHT AZERI EMBASSIES SET UP ABROAD

    BAKU (24 SEPT) TURAN: National council of azerbaijan passed
a resolution on establishment of azeri embassies in the usa,
france and great britain.
    Thus, 8 azeri embassies have been set up abroad. Azerbaijan
is going to open his embassies in egypt and saudi arabia also.
    According to the azeri foreign ministry, 122 states have
recognized the independece of azerbaijan and 58 countries of this
number have established diplomatic relations with the republic.
   It is financial shortages that prevents the opening of
the azeri diplomatic missions abroad. Maintaining an embassy is
approximated to cost 250,000 US dollars per year.--0--


   NO SERIOUS CHANGES IN KARABAKH

   BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: Press-centre of the azeri defence
ministry reports on a heavy night of fire-brush battles ranging
all over the karabakh's front. Azeri sub-units fortified their
positions near the village of farukh.
   The villages of mor-mor in the region of kedabek, agkend,
gazanchi and seidliyar in the zangelan region were shelled by
mortars and artillery last night from the positions in the
armenian regions of krasnoselsk and berd. There are no reports on
killed or injured.--0--


  OIL PRODUCTION MAY REACH LAST YEAR'S PRODUCTION LEVEL

    BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: Leadership of the azeri state oil
company hopes they would be able to reach the last year's oil
production level, that is 11.7 Million tons of oil.
    But during the 8 months of this year, they managed to
extract only 7.5 Million tons with 6.2 Of the number extracted
on the sea shelf / last year, 9.5 Million tons was extracted on
the sea shelf/.
    As it is known, oil is the main source of azeri national
income.--0--


   NEW ALLIANCE IS FORMING

    BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: It is expected that mr. Houson,
chairman of the international "macdermot" company, will arrive
in baku at the beginning of october.
    Macdermot specializing in production of sea permanent
platforms, wants to form the "macdermot - shelf" alliance with
the republic's planning building concern "shel-fproyektstroy".
    The president of azerbaijan and prime-minister are expected
to receive mr. Houson.--0--


   INFILTRATION OF KGB AND IRANIAN AGENTS IN THE POPULAR FRONT

    BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: Chairman of the popular front's
executive committee, tofig seidov, in his interveiw to the
local newspaper "aina" declared that kgb had rooted his agents
into the popular front since the very first days of the
organization's creation.
   " I'm absolutely sure that there are russian and iranian
agents among the members of the apf". But the chairman stressed,
at present, they were representing no danger to the national
movement.
   Although seidov stressed the need for the popular front's
leadership to be informed about the names of the agents, he
objected to the publication of their names.--0--



  AZERI GOVERMENT SETS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAMME ON
  STABILIZSATION OF ECONOMIC LINKS WITH THE CIS STATES

    BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: Vice-premier vahid ahmedov of
azerbaijan says stabilization of economic indices in azerbaijan
can be observed in may-august of this year and the showings of
chemical industry has even increased by 9 per cent.
     But at the same time, the vice-premier is sizing up the
economic situation in azerbaijan as difficult. Ahmedov said
to turan correspondent that, it was the downfall of the former
ussr, weakening economic links among once her republics that
resulted in the complicated economic situation in azerbaijan.
    According to ahmedov, at the present the goverment is busy
with implementation of a programme on stabilization of those links.
The priorities are given to the links providing production of
the most important products such as, oil production equipment.
    According to official reports, azeri industrial capacities
are functioning only at 50 to 55 per cent.--0--

  YEREVAN DELIBERATEDLY UNDERMINING THE SOCHI CEASEFIRE
  AGREEMENT

    BAKU (25 SEPT) TURAN: The sochi ceasefire  agreement which
has to take an effect in nagorno-karabakh from 24.Oo /local
time / on september 25, has been practically bogged down.
    Azeri defence ministry reports that armenian experts have
not yet arrived in moscow to work out the ceasefire control
mechanism and the azeri five-member expert group has for the
fifth day been waiting in vain for them in the russian capital.
    Officials in baku think armenia deliberatedly torpedoed the
ceasefire agreement, because armenia is interested in dispatching
of the cis armed forces to the republic of azerbaijan.
    In his interview, published in the newspaper "komsomolskaya
pravda" on september 22, the russian defence minister p.Grachev
said if the parties failed to comply with the sochi peace
agreement, only "bringing peace troops either solely of the un
or together with the cis armed forces into nagorno-karabakh"
was seen as the only way out to settle the conflict.--0--

   T U R A N  News  Agency
      Baku, Azerbaijan
   Phone: (8922) 66-7977  66-7833
   Fax: (8922) 66-2009
   Telex: 142168 META SU
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