ASBAREZ Online [06-05-2006]

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
06/05/2006
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Kocharian, Aliyev Discuss Karabagh Conflict in Bucharest 2) Armenians Protest Racist Killings in Russia 3) Armenian Men's Chess Team Wins Turin Olympiad 4) DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TODAY! 1) Kocharian, Aliyev Discuss Karabagh Conflict in Bucharest (RFE/RL/Armenpress)Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev concluded a second round of talks aimed at resolving the Karabagh conflict, but no progress was reported. Monday's talks were the second time that Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev met on the sidelines of the Black Sea Summit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. The talks were also attended by the French, Russian, and American Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which has overseen the peace negotiations since 1992. Kocharian and Aliyev already had a protracted meeting on Sunday, June 4, at the Polish embassy in Romania. OSCE Chairman in Office Karel de Gucht, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan also attended the meeting. Afterward, the presidents met one-on-one. The first round of negotiations lasted for over four hours. American co-chair Steven Mann said that the meeting took place in a "very good atmosphere" but gave few details about the nature of the talks. "The co-chairs still believe that 2006 is the window to reach an agreement regarding Karabagh, and I don't want to characterize exactly where we might be in that process," Mann said. Mann also said that the mediators believe that the Karabagh conflict can still be resolved this year. "The co-chairs still believe that 2006 is the window to reach an agreement regarding Karabagh," he said. Asked whether Aliyev and Kocharian made any progress towards a peace deal, the American diplomat replied, "I would only say that we have had very, very detailed discussions." He said that he and his two counterparts expect progress in the talks every time Armenian and Azeri leaders meet to explore ways for ending their dispute over Karabagh. These meetings in Romania are the second time that Kocharian and Aliyev have met this year. The previous talks, held near Paris in February, failed to yield any agreement. The Armenian and Azeri leaders also brought up the Karabagh conflict as they separately addressed a high-level forum of Black Sea nations at the summit on Monday. "The people of Nagorno-Karabagh have implemented in practice the right to self-determination," declared Kocharian. "It was done fully in line with the requirements of international law." "We believe that there is a need for effective efforts for a full-scale integration of the [Mountainous Karabagh] Republic into the international community," he added. 2) Armenians Protest Racist Killings in Russia YEREVAN (RFE/RL/Armenpress)Several dozen people staged a demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan on Monday to protest racially-motivated killings of Armenians and other non-Slavs in Russia. The protesters, most of them representatives of several Armenian civic groups, accused Moscow of connivance and even complicity in the xenophobic violence widely blamed on tens of thousands of neo-Nazi skinheads operating across Russia. The demonstrators presented a statement to embassy officials, saying that in 2005 there were about 402 attacks and 28 murders of non-Slavs in Russia. In 2006 alone, 6 ethnic Armenians have been killed in Moscow. "The citizens of Armenia and Armenian non-governmental organizations condemn the activity of raging nationalistic organizations in Russia and the negligence of Russian law-enforcement bodies to detect perpetrators and punish them. We demand that Russian authorities take speed measures to arrest murderers and punish them," the statement said. The protest was sparked by the fatal stabbing of a 19 year old Russian citizen of Armenian descent, Artur Sardarian, by a group of youths on a train in a Moscow suburb. Simon Tsaturian, who represents the family of another ethnic Armenian killed in Moscow in April, cited witnesses as saying the murderers were chanting "Glory to Russia" while stabbing Arthur Sardarian. The attackers then stopped the train by setting off an alarm and escaped. Few of the perpetrators of these racially motivated killings have been arrested and brought to justice. A case in point was the St. Petersburg trial of seven teenagers, who were convicted of stabbing to death a 9 year old Tajik girl but were sentenced only between 18 months and five years in prison last February. Protestors also denounced the Armenian Government's reluctance to bring Russia to task over the killings. They marched to the Armenian Foreign Ministry to condemn its failure to publicly criticize the Russian authorities for their failure to stop the violence. Armenia's ambassador in Moscow and other diplomats say they regularly raise the issue with Russian officials. But the organizers of the protest insisted that Yerevan is scared of openly challenging its closest ally. "I am convinced that if the Armenian authorities took a tougher line the situation would not be so grave," said Ishkhanian. "The Armenian authorities are not doing anything to stop the killings," charged another protester, Arsen Kharatian. "Their failure to speak out is a crime in itself." Sardarian's violent death came in the wake of an uproar caused by the killing of another young Armenian. The 17 year old Vigen Abramiants was stabbed to death on a Moscow subway platform on April 22. 3) Armenian Men's Chess Team Wins Turin Olympiad YEREVAN (Armenpress)The Armenian Men's team won the gold Sunday at the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin. The Armenians, going into the final round 2.5 points ahead of the field, had agreed to a quick draw against the Hungarians. This secured them Gold less than an hour after the start of round 13. Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian announced Monday in Parliament that the Armenian Government will organize a reception for the team when they return home and will award the champions. Other winners in Turin included the Ukrainian Women's team, which won the women's tournament by 2 points. China beat the Netherlands 2.5:1.5 to take Silver, two points behind the winners. The US team demolished Norway 3.5:0.5, while Israel beat a lackluster Russian team 3:1. Both USA and Israel had 33.0 points, but the Americans took Bronze on tiebreak scores. 4) DON'T FORGET TO VOTE TODAY! The Armenian National Committee Political Action Committee urges all Armenians to vote for the Following Candidates: CHUCK POOCHIGIAN for Attorney General JACKIE KANCHELIAN-SPEIER for Lt. Governor PAUL KREKORIAN for State Assembly (43rd District) JOHN CHIANG for State Controller LELAND YEE for State Senate (8th District) ANTHONY PORTANTINO for State Assembly (44th District) MARTY SIMONOFF for State Assembly (72nd District) LEE BACA for Los Angeles County Sheriff MIKE CARONA for Orange County Sheriff To find your nearest polling station, visit All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2006 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.