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06/07/2006
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://WWW.ASBAREZ. COM 1) Azerbaijan's Refusal to Recognize MKR's Right to Referendum renders Talks Fruitless 2) Results Announced for CA Primaries; Krekorian Wins Democratic Primary 3) MKR Foreign Minister Meets with President of Lebanon 4) Karabagh to Hold Constitutional Referendum in December 5) Turkish Court of Appeals Overturns Dink's Verdict 6) Federer to Face Nalbandian in Men's Semi-Finals 7) Armenian Parliament Hosts BSEC Meeting 1) Azerbaijan's Refusal to Recognize MKR's Right to Referendum renders Talks Fruitless YEREVAN (Yerkir)--Talks aimed at resolving the Karabagh conflict do not produce results because Azerbaijan refuses to recognize the right of Karabagh's people to hold a referendum, said Vice-speaker of the Armenian parliament and Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovhannisian. He said that people exercise their right to self-determination and express their will via referendum. `The point is that Nagorno Karabagh was the first to do it during the post Soviet age, when the international community was not ready for separation from metropolises,' said Hovhannisian. `When independence was proclaimed in East Timor, Eritrea, Montenegro it was perceived as a normal phenomenon,' said Hovhannisian, adding that it seems `the same variant' will be proposed for Kosovo. 2) Results Announced for CA Primaries; Krekorian Wins Democratic Primary Several candidates supported by the Armenian National Committee Political Action Committee won Tuesday their respective Primary Races One of the most important primaries took place in California's 43rd State Assembly District, where the main contenders were Frank Quintero and Paul Krekorian, who had the backing of the Armenian National Committee as well as many other Armenian community leaders. Krekorian won the Democratic Primary with 56% of the vote and will face his Republican challenger this November in the general election. An overwhelming majority of Armenian American voters residing the 43rd district voted for Krekorian. The race for the seat turned ugly during its last few days when Quintero and his supporters resorted to a negative campaign aimed at dividing and insulting the Armenian electorate, creating outrage in the community. Other winners Tuesday included: Adam Schiff with 82% of the vote in the 29th Congress District; Dianne Feinstein with 87% of the vote for Senator; Anthony Portantino with 43% of the vote in the 44th State Assembly District; and John Chiang with 53% for State Controller. In the primary race for Lieutenant Governor, Jackie Kanchelian-Speier, with 38% of the vote, lost to John Garamendi who had 43%. Marty Simonoff also lost the Republican Primary in the 72nd State Assembly District. 3) MKR Foreign Minister Meets with President of Lebanon The Foreign Minister of the Mountainous Karabagh Republic Georgi Petrossian met Tuesday with the President of Lebanon, General Emile Lahoud. Accompanying him were, a delegation from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Lebanon Central Committee Armenian, Armenian Ambassador to Lebanon, Vahan Der-Ghevontian, and MKR Resettlement Coordinator, Serge Amirkhanian. During the meeting, Petrossian and Lahoud discussed the current situation in Karabagh and discussed ongoing efforts to help resettle Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan. Petrossian and Lebanese Parliament Member Hagop Pakradouni, along with the ARF Lebanon Central Committee delegation, also paid a visit to the Foreign Minister of Lebanon Faouzy Salloukh. This meeting also focused on the Karabagh conflict. During his visit to Lebanon, Petrossian also visited His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and other spiritual leaders, the Aztag Daily Newspaper editorial offices, and the families of Vicken Zakarian and Mher Choulhajian, who were martyred during the war in Artsakh. 4) Karabagh to Hold Constitutional Referendum in December YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--The leadership of Mountainous Karabagh Republic (MKR) will hold a referendum next December on its draft constitution that declares Karabagh an `independent and sovereign state,' a senior official in Stepanakert said on Wednesday. Rudik Hyusnunts, deputy speaker of the Karabagh parliament, said that the decision was made on Monday at a meeting of a government commission that has for years been working on the text of a first-ever Karabagh constitution. The commission is headed by Arkady Ghoukassian, President of MKR. `The MKR President will sign a decree to hold a referendum on the constitutional draft on December 10,' said Hyusnunts. The decree can be signed only after the MKR Parliament debates and endorses the commission's constitutional draft. According to Hyusnunts, Parliament will receive the draft on June 15 and open debates on it in September. Parliament is dominated by members of Ghoukassian's Democratic Artsakh Party and its junior coalition partner, the Azat Hayrenik Party. `On December 10 we will try to reaffirm the results of our independence referendum,' said Hyusnunts. 5) Turkish Court of Appeals Overturns Dink's Verdict ISTANBUL (Armenpress)--Turkey's National Court of Appeals overturned a ruling of a lower court that gave a six month suspended sentence to Hrant Dink, editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos for `denigrating the Turkishness.' The Court of Appeals ruled that `the accusations brought against the defender do not contain material or moral elements,' reported Turkish daily Zaman. 6) Federer to Face Nalbandian in Men's Semi-Finals YEREVAN (Armenpress)The World's top-ranked tennis player Roger Federer will take on third-ranked David Nalbandian, an Argentinean of Armenian descent, in Friday's semifinals after both players posted quarterfinal victories Tuesday at the 2006 French Open. David Nalbandian ousted sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in four sets to progress to the French Open semi-finals for the second time in three years. Nalbandian, 24, beat Federer before, when he won the 2005 Masters Series event in Shanghai in 2005. The 24 year old Federer needs the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam. The seven-time major titlist currently holds the Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open crowns and is trying to become the first man to hold all four Slams since Rod Laver in 1969. Only five men have won all four majors (Don Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Laver, and Andre Agassi). 7) Armenian Parliament Hosts BSEC Meeting YEREVAN (Armenpress)--The 27th meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is underway in the Armenian Parliament building, chaired by the new Speaker of Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosian. The agenda at the two day meeting includes discussions on such issues as energy security, nature protection, trade, transport and communications, cooperation of law-enforcers, culture, and science. Around 100 officials from 11 members of the BSEC are taking part in the meeting, including delegates from Turkey and Azerbaijan. 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. 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