AZERI MFA: OSKANIAN-MAMMADYAROV MEETING NOT PLANNED IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 19:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ There was no offer yet regarding arrangement of the
meeting between Foreign Ministers (FMs) of Azerbaijan and Armenia Elmar
Mammadyarov and Vartan Oskanian in Moscow, reported Tair Tagizadeh,
Head of Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan. Mr. Tagizadeh said Elmar Mammadyarov,
the FM of Azerbaijan, was to leave for Moscow on April 20 in order to
partake in the next session of CIS Council of FMs scheduled for April
21. There are no arrangements made as of April 18 regarding possible
meeting in Moscow between Mr. Mammadyarov and Vartan Oskanian,
his Armenian counterpart, which means there will be no meeting,
he added. Alongside Mr. Tagizadeh stated the visit agenda includes
some meetings Mr. Mammadyarov will have with counterparts from other
countries.

To remind, yesterday Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri
Merzlyakov reported April 21 he was going to meet with Armenian and
Azeri FMs Elmar Mammadyarov and Vartan Oskanian, who will take part
in the session of the CIS Council of FMs.

MEMORIAL TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS PROFANED IN LYON

Yerkir
18.04.2006 16:45

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Seven days before the commemorations of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915, the steles of the Armenian Memorial set up in the
town of Lyon (France), which must be inaugurated by President Jacques
Chirac, were profaned with inscriptions of insults and negationists:
“There never was genocide of the Armenians”.

This act of vandalism followed upon the consecutive racist drifts with
the ultra nationalist Turkish demonstration of last 18 March. Armenian
associations and organizations (CCAF – CDCA) call the authorities
of Police force to seek and sanction the persons in charge for these
intolerable attacks to human dignity.

ARMENIAN OMBUDSMAN TO PARTAKE IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 20:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ombudsman of Armenia Armen Harutyunyan will
partake in an international conference titled the Role of
Ombudsperson Institution in Strengthening Democracy, planned in
Istanbul April 26-27, reports the Press Service of the Ombudsman of
Armenia. Ombudspersons of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization
(BSECO) member states – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine,
Moldova, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and
Albania – will take part in the conference organized by the BSECO
Parliamentary Assembly. During the event matters of activities of
ombudspersons, their role in strengthening processes of development
of democracy will be discussed. Armen Harutyunyan is expected to
address the conference.

ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSIONS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN SLAVYANSK-ON-KUBAN

Yerkir
18.04.2006 12:21

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Round-table discussions dated to the anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey will be held in the Slavonic
State Pedagogical Institute, reported Yerkramas, the newspaper of
Armenians of Russia.

Representatives of political and public organizations of
Slavyansk-on-Kuban will discuss the following issues: the Armenian
Genocide as a crime against humanity, international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, official acknowledgment of the crime by
Turkey, the pan-turkism ideology as a challenge to Europe and world,
ways of fair liquidation of consequences of the Armenian Genocide,
Hat Dat decision on the basis of international law.

The event participants will be shown a film titled “I condemn” shot
by Yerkir Media TV Company and dated to the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. A resolution will be passed upon completion of
the discussions. The discussions were welcomed by a number of Russian
political figures including Russian State Duma member Sergey Shishkarev
(United Russia faction).

BAKU KEEPS CLAIMING SAFAROV EXTRADITION

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 20:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Extradition of Ramil Safarov to Azerbaijan is
possible and I hope it will take place.

This is possible only after a repeated consideration of the case by
Hungarian Court of Appeal though,” Safarov’s lawyer Adil Ismaylov
said. “According to the Strasbourg Convention of 1983, a person,
who has committed a crime abroad, can be extradited for serving his
sentence in his fatherland, provided that the punishment will not be
changed and he will not be released or pardoned,” he said.

In the Azeri lawyer’s words, consideration of the complaint of the
defense by the Court of Appeal may take a year and only after a
decision is passed “extradition may become possible.”

Ismaylov called “unfair” the decision of the Hungarian judge, who
sentenced Safarov to life imprisonment without the right of pardon
within 30 years. “Already at the first trial we felt Hungarians’
sympathy towards the Azeri officer. However, later the judge agreed
to screening a video material, which showed the headless corpse of
Gurgen Margaryan, which created a negative image of Safarov. The
judge also made a mistake, when he stated that Hungary can provide
a forth interpreter to Safarov (at that time he had interpreters
from Hungarian into Russian, Turkish and Azerbaijani), as he may
face life imprisonment. We were also discontent with the results of
two examinations, the conclusions of which did not always coincide,”
Adil Ismaylov specially stressed.

RUSSIAN DEPUTY FM ARRIVED IN YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 21:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Russian Deputy FM, State Secretary of
the Russian MFA Grigory Karasin arrived in Yerevan. During his
visit to Yerevan the Russian diplomat will take part in a regional
conference of Russian Ambassadors to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Turkey. Besides, Karasin is scheduled to meet with Armenian leaders
in Yerevan, reports RIA Novosti.

OSKANIAN NOT PLANNING TO MEETING WITH MAMMADYAROV IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 21:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The meeting of Armenian and Azeri Foreign
Ministers (FMs) within the CIS Council of FMs is not planned,
Armenian MFA Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. “Oskanian and Mammadyarov may meet, but we do not have any
information yet,” he remarked. To noted, the CIS Summit of FMs will
be held in Moscow April 21.

MERZLYAKOV NOT PLANNING TO VISIT YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 21:42 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri
Merzlyakov is not planning to visit Yerevan, The Russian MFA Group
on Nagorno Karabakh told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In the words of
the Group’s Coordinator, Mann and Merzlyakov did not plan to visit
Armenia together. To remind, on April 20 Steven Mann will arrive in
Yerevan and then in Baku from Moscow. Earlier French Co-Chair Bernard
Fassier visited the region.

To note, some Armenia media reported Steven Mann will arrive in
Yerevan along with Yuri Merzlyakov.

SAFAROV CASE: HUNGARIAN LAWS DO NOT ADMIT EXTRADITION IN CASE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 21:52 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan and Hungary have no agreement on
extradition of criminals, lawyer Nazeli Vardanyan, who defends
interests of Gurgen Margaryan’s family, stated at a news conference in
Yerevan. In her words, if there had existed an agreement of the type,
Safarov would not be sent to his fatherland.

“According to Hungarian laws, extradition is not allowed in case of
life sentence. By this Azerbaijan merely disinforms the population
on the Budapest trial,” she remarked. Vardanyan also added that the
hearing on the second criminal case regarding Safarov due to his
attacking the guard will begin on May 3. N.

Vardanyan also thanked Armenian media for support and truthful
publications.

SAFAROV DID NOT REPENT OF HIS CRIME

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 22:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At the last session of the Budapest court Azeri army
officer Ramil Safarov, charged in murder of Armenian army lieutenant
Gurgen Margaryan, never repented of the crime he had committed, lawyer
Nazeli Vardanyan stated at a news conference in Yerevan. In her words,
Safarov explained the crime by “losing control” of himself.

At that she noted that the defense of the Armenian party was more
competent, that that of Azerbaijan. “We refused from politicization
of the process from the very beginning, while Azeris kept speaking
about the political underlying reasons of the murder, the war,
ancient culture of Azerbaijan. In response to it Hungarian judge
Andras Vaskuti noted he did not know a country, whose culture admits
an inhuman murder,” Vardanyan underscored.

“It was a fierce inhuman crime on the national ground, planned in
advance and aimed not only against Armenia, but also Hungary,” Nazeli
Vardanyan cited the words of Prosecutor Veronica Kis.

As of the appeal, according to Hungarian laws, it can be applied
for in three days after announcement of the sentence. “The Court
of Appeal considers only the course of the trial in compliance with
the documents.

If it is discontent with anything, a new trial is assigned. However,
I do not think this is possible,” Vardanyan said.
From: Baghdasarian