Nation

President returns home
President Heydar Aliyev returned from an official visit to the United States, late at night on March 14.
"Don't worry a bit, I am perfectly healthy and feel very well," he said to the media at Bina airport.
Referring to detailed press reports on the official part of the visit and the treatment he underwent at the Cleveland hospital, the president, however, said he had nothing to add. "Let no one believe, Heydar Aliyev is ill," he said.
He noted that despite being away, he was regularly informed of everything happened in Azerbaijan, and was capable of taking control in any eventuality. The president added he is satisfied with the performance of his administration.
The president had been in the United States since February 23. During his visit he held talks with US President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheyene, and other high-ranking US officials. Upon completion of the official part of the visit, Aliyev went for treatment to the Cleveland medical clinic and underwent inguinal hernia surgery on March 3. He was discharged from the hospital on March 12.

MG co-chairmen to present new ideas
The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairmen are planning to pay a trip to this region early in April. They will present new ideas about the settlement of the Qarabag conflict to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and will further prepare new proposals based on these ideas, should the presidents find them as satisfactory.
The previous meeting of the Minsk Group co-chairmen was conducted in Washington last week.
In the meantime, the US ambassador in Baku Ross Wilson claimed that new opportunities for conflict resolution would be realised only after the 2003 presidential elections in Azerbaijan.
He said recent talks by the Azerbaijani president and the Bush administration would positively effect setting up new guidelines and foundations for resolving the conflict over Upper Qarabag.
For the time being, Wilson stated, the international community is anxious about the Iraq issue. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that  interest in a resolution of the Upper Qarabag conflict has slackened. The situation in the region is unstable and continues to pose a threat, the ambassador said noting that the new efforts could be made to settle the problem through the OSCE Minsk Group.

Journalists hold first congress
The first congress of Azerbaijani journalists was held at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre on Saturday. Opening the event, head of the Azerbaijani Union of Journalists Haci Haciyev said that the first congress was conducted in 1962 and the last one in 2000. At the event, congratulatory letters to the congress by President Heydar Aliyev and the Council of Europe were read. Organisational issues were discussed, members of voting and mandate commissions as well as the secretariat were elected.Through open voting, Aflatun Amasov, Gunduz Tahirli, Rasad Macid, Arif Aliyev and Azer Hasrat were elected as presidium members. Furthermore, congress participants discussed the Charter of the Media Council point by point and adopted it with certain changes and amendments. The congress also adopted Professional Conduct Regulations of Azerbaijani Journalists. Participants elected members of the Media Council, including nine from journalistic entities, Aflatun Amasov, Elcin Sixli, Baxtiyar Sadixov, Azer Hasrat, Gunduz Tahirli, Sahib Aliyev, Qanimat Zahidov, Arif Aliyev, Rasad Macid, and  six from public organisations, Anar, Sabir Hasanli, Vaqif Samadoglu, Ramiz Rovsan, Zeynal Mammadli, Cahangir Mammadli.
Through secret voting,  Aflatun Amasov was elected as chairman of the Media Council.

Japan supports peaceful resolution to Iraqi crisis
Japan stood by European nations in efforts to thwart the war against Iraq.
Its ambassador to Azerbaijan Toshiyuki Fujiwara stated in a meeting with the students of Khazar University of Baku on March 12 that the "government of Japan will go on with joint endeavours with European nations in order to prevent" the impending war against Iraq.
In his speech ambassador Fujiwara also touched on a number of international issues.
He pointed to the Japanese officials' diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons production. The ambassador said that as a country aspiring to a permanent seat on the United Nations' Security Council, Japan will further steer a course aimed at maintaining peace in the world.
Fujiwara was the third diplomat, following US and German envoys, invited to Khazar University to clarify their government's stance on global processes.
Concerning the bilateral relations, ambassador Fujiwara said the Japanese government attaches particular importance to relations with Azerbaijan, and their enhancement in political, economic and cultural fields.
Tokyo would pay particular attention to reconstructing the infrastructure of Azerbaijan, and would further pursue bilateral co-operation in education, public health and ecology.
Assistance for refugees
Japan is planning to launch new projects aimed at helping refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan.
According to ambassador Fujiawara, about US$350,000 had been allocated for the projects by the Japanese government.
Regarding the Japan’s stance on the conflict over Upper Qarabag, the ambassador has reaffirmed his country favours a peaceful resolution to the conflict, through activity of the OSCE Minsk Group.

India favours political resolution to Iraq crisis
"India backs solving the Iraq problem in accordance with the seconded UN resolutions, in a political way," newly appointed Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Jyoti Swarup Pande was quoted as clarifying New Deli's official stance on the US-Iraq brinkmanship.
Addressing undergraduates at Khazar University on Modern India: economic development, external and internal changes, the diplomat provided the audience with detailed information on past and modern life in his country.
Touching upon relations between India and Azerbaijan, the ambassador has pointed to the co-operation established in a number of spheres, the upcoming signing of an intergovernmental agreement on academic exchange, and hinted that India is soon to co-operate with Azerbaijan in the oil sector in future.

No support if war breaks out
India stands aloof from the idea of providing military aid for any country at war. The announcement was made by the Ambassador Jyoti Swarup Pande to undergraduates at Khazar University, following a question on whether India would give military help to Azerbaijan or Armenia should hostilities resume.
Hoping for a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Upper Qarabag, the ambassador reaffirmed that his country recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Romanian rights activists report on IDPs to UN
A Romanian human rights organization will prepare a report on the state of refugees and IDPs in Azerbaijan to submit to the United Nations, the European Union, Nato, the Council of Europe, and the US State Department. Florentin Skavitski, head of the organization, told a news conference at the Romanian embassy in Azerbaijan on Thursday.
Established in 1999, the organization is an associated UN member, holding human rights monitoring at state level. Most of its members previously occupied senior posts in Romanian government.
According to Skavitski, the ongoing visit of the delegation which he led and was initiated by the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Romania, Eldar Hasanov. He said they had visited IDPs settled in the Saatli and Sabirabad districts, where they were touched by the plight of refugees. Skavitski told the media that special programs dedicated to this topic would be made and broadcast on Romanian Public Television. The delegation has conducted meetings with the chairman of the Azerbaijani Central Electoral Commission, Justice Minister, Ombudsman, and heads of local NGOs. The meetings touched upon the issue of war prisoners and hostages. The political prisoners problem was not included in the agenda as this does not fall within the mandate of the organization.
The Romanian guest avoided political appraisals in every possible way. His answers  made it clear that the visit was aimed at becoming familiar with the fate refugees and IDPs are forced to share. Answering the Zerkalo correspondent's question whether the visit pursued other ends or not, the  activist said: "We had meetings with representatives of non-governmental organizations, who shared with us the bulk of their data on the state of human rights in your country. But we haven't got appropriate permission to monitor the whole spectrum of issues dealing with human rights in Azerbaijan."

Much learned from Azeri women
A news conference on results of an undertaking, Women: Society and Politics, was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Wednesday, where Christian Japman, Kate Bennet and Mery Ann shared their impressions about the undertaking held over March 10-12. The British ladies touched on common problems of women. They stressed many points to be learned from Azerbaijani women.Chairing the conference, MP Malahat Hasanova said they had signed a memorandum on cooperation with their British counterparts. The British delegation also visited refugees and IDPs in a hostel in the Narimanov district of Baku.

Picket in support of Iraqi Turks
The South Azerbaijan (in Iran) National Revival Movement's (SANRM) committee of defence attempted to hold a picket in front of the Turkish embassy, to urge Azerbaijan and Turkey to follow a common stance on protection of Iraqi ethnic Turks.
Protesters urged Ankara to bring troops into Iraq to protect Iraqi ethnic Turks, who are Azeris by origin.
According to the committee chairman, Cahandar Bayoglu, members of a number of political parties joined the action. Police dispersed the unauthorised picket, though the protesters managed to have a petition read out and handed over to the media and embassy officials.

Armenia immovable on Qarabag conflict
"International observers' criticism of the results of presidential elections in Armenia will not affect Yerevan's stance on settlement of the Qarabag conflict", Armenian President Robert Kocharyan stated in Yerevan Thursday.
The RIA Novosti news agency has carried this statement by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, quoting him as saying: "Armenia has precisely defined its stance in negotiations and will stick to it over the next five years." Kocharyan dismissed reports claiming that new proposals on the Qarabag conflict settlement had been recently forwarded by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen. He said negotiations might be expected to become more active after the Azerbaijani presidential elections due in the autumn.

Status of German language to rise
A conference, Teaching of the German language in Azerbaijan, was held in the Kapelhaus, a German-Azerbaijani cultural centre, on March 13, focusing on two top issues - the state of the German language in Azerbaijan and the state of textbooks and German language lessons in secondary schools. The organisers of the conference - the Ministry of Education, the German-Azerbaijani  Society, and the Union of German language teachers made proposals on raising the level of teaching of the German language to that of English in Azerbaijan, expansion of friendship ties between German and Azerbaijani schoolchildren, setting up seminars to develop the German language in rural schools, and opening of a German language centre for pupils and teachers in Baku. The conference ended with a form of address in the issues raised, to the Ministry of Education.