Author: Antonian Lara

ARMENOUHIE NAZIKIAN, 96, BENEFACTRESS FOR ARMENIAN CAUSES

Pasadena Independent, CA
Arcadia Weekly, CA
May 4 2006

Aram and Armenouhie Nazikian’s memory lives on setting an example
for others to follow. God bless their souls.

In 1985, Mrs. Armenouhie Nazikian read an article in the newspaper
about the difficulties the newly formed Western Region of the Armenian
Relief Society (ARS WR) was having regarding funding for an ARS WR
headquarters. This was the first of several serendipitous moments in
the life of Armenouhie Nazikian.

She had just lost her husband Aram and wanted to do something special
in his name. The rest is history. Her call to the Regional Executive
led to a contribution of $50,000. This generous donation became the
down payment of the ARS Aram and Armenouhie Nazikian Home. The ARS WR
celebrated the opening of the Center on December 4, 1988. Four days
later, the world was shocked by the Armenian Earthquake. The Home
became the center for donations and relief efforts from the Western
United States.

The ARS-WR was saddened that this kind unassuming woman recently was
laid to rest at Rose Hills. Members from the ARS-WR attended the
modest funeral where her nephew, Robert Sarkis Lion presented the
ARS-WR with a large framed wedding picture of Aram and Armenouhie
Nazikian. Nazikian was born April 18, 1910, in Sebastia (Sivas),
one of the Armenian provinces in the Ottoman Empire, to Azniv and
Hagop Samuelian. After surviving the genocide, she married Aram
Nazikian and lived in South America, New York, San Diego and finally
settled in Montebello, California. Her last years were spent at the
Ararat Home. Armenouhie Nazikian is survived by her nephew, Robert
Sarkis Lion (Aslan) and his wife, Maria; her grandnephew, Charlie and
grandniece, Michelle Poladian; who just gave birth to Jasmine Liona
Poladian. Coincidentally, Armenouhie was born in 1910, the year ARS
was born and she was buried on what would have been her 96th birthday,
which was also the date for the burial of her husband, Aram.

OFFICIAL: 28 OF BLACK SEA AIR CRASH VICTIMS IDENTIFIED

Interfax, Russia
May 4 2006

SOCHI. May 4 (Interfax) – The bodies of 48 of the 113 people killed
in the crash of an Armenian airliner off the Russian Black Sea coast
on Wednesday have been pulled from the water, and 28 of them have
been identified, a senior official said on Thursday.

Gen. Sergei Kudinov of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry
cited the statistics in talking to reporters.

The plane, an Airbus A-320, was flying from Yerevan to the Russian
Black Sea resort of Sochi and crashed in stormy weather while on
approach to landing at Adler airport near Sochi.

US MOURNS VICTIMS IN ARMENIAN PLANE CRASH

Xinhua, China
May 4 2006

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) — The United States said on Wednesday
that it expressed “sincere condolences” to those families of those who
lost lives in the Armenian plane crash that killed 113 people on board.

“We express our sincere condolences to the people of Armenia and
Russia as well as to the families of those who lost their lives in
the crash of the Armenian Airlines Armavia flight from Yerevan to
southern Russia,” the State Department said in a statement.

An Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline belonging to the air company
Armavia went down into the Black Sea near the southern Russian resort
town of Sochi early Wednesday morning, killing all 113 people on board,
including six children and eight crew.

Bad weather conditions were responsible for the air tragedy.

40% OF TRANSFERS FROM NATURAL PERSONS ABROAD TO ARMENIA MADE BY UNISTREAM SYSTEM

Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The total amount of money transfers from
other countries to Armenia by the UNIstream system without opening a
bank account made 250 mln USD in 2005, or 40% of the money transfers
made by natural persons. Chairman of the Unibank’s board Vardan
Atayan stated this during the May 3 press conference. According to
him, this year it is envisaged to increase these transfers to 400 mln
USD. Transfers from 46 countries to Armenia are currently made by the
UNIstream system. The system, which was founded by the Uniastrum Bank
(Russia), covers about 80 countries with its 30 thousand service
offices, about 3 thousand of which operate in Russia. It was noted
that UNIstream’s services doubled in Armenia in 2005, amounting to
a total of 383 bln drams (about 851 mln USD).

ARMENIAN PLANE CRASHES KILLING 100 PASSENGERS
By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Moscow

Zaman Online, Turkey
May 3 2006

An Armavia Airlines commuter plane, the biggest airline company in
Armenia, crashed this morning near the Russian city of Sochi.

The Russian news agency RIA announced the plane was flying from the
Armenian capital Yerevan to Sochi when it crashed with 100 passengers
on board.

The Airbus 320 carrying at least five children was lost from radar
at 01:15 a.m. Bad weather conditions are complicating search and
rescue works, according to Russian Emergency Ministry Spokesman
Viktor Beltsov.

HOVHANNES HOVHANNISIAN: RUSSIAN NATION’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS ARMENIANS IS RESULT OF ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS

Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Separate cases must not be used for
damaging the Armenian-Russian friendship. Ruben Tovmasian, the First
Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee of Armenia made such
a statement, touching upon at the May 2 meeting taken place at the
“Hayeli” club, the fact of the murder of the Armenian young man in
Moscow recently. He mentioned that his party condemns similar cases
but he considers inadmissible to raise an anti-Russian wave based on
them and to use them to find a black stain in the Armenian-Russian
relations. The speaker did not agree that similar actions taking
place in Russia are a result of the state policy and are led by the
authorities. At the same time, Tovmasian expressed an accusation in
the address of the authorities of Armenia who, according to him, has
not created such conditions in the country that citizens do not have
to emigrate. According to Hovhannes Hovhannisian, the Chairman of the
Liberal Progressive party of Armenia, the case of the Armenian young
man’s murder was not the first one, and similar cases will take place
in future as well. According to him, displays of chauvinism recently
become friquent are not responded neither by authorities of Russia nor
by public. “It’s a pity, the society accepts those rigours which are
implemented towards other nations, with secret pleasure,” the speaker
mentioned. According to him, groups of “shaved heads” acting in Russia
are not accidentally created: they have the authorities’ assistance
and will have some role. According to Hovhannisian, in Russia, which
gradually becomes from a democratic country an authirtarian one,
where the authorities are passed under control of the State Security
Committee, creation of an atmosphere of great-power chauvinism is
natural. Hovhannisian mentioned that similar actions towards Armenian
are a result of the Armenian-Russian interstate relations. According
to him, as much the authorities of Armenia make the Armenian-Russian
interstate relations vassal ones, as much the Armenian authorities
and the majority of the political elite prove their devotion to the
Russian authorities, as worse the Russian nation’s attitude towards
Armenian becomes.

RA BILL “ON NATIONAL MINORITIES” WORKED OUT

Noyan Tapan
May 02 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The seminar organized on May 2 by the
“Cooperation for the Sake of Open Society” initiative was dedicated
to the discussion of the Armenian authorities’ policy towards the
national minorities living in the country and to the discussion of
the bill “On National Minorities”. According to Hranush Kharatian,
the author of the bill, Head of the Department on Issues of National
Minorities and Religion attached to RA government, the preparation
of the bill became necessary after signing of the “International
Convention on National Minorities” by Armenia. She mentioned that the
rights of the national minorities had been already stipulated by a
number of RA laws, including the Constitution and the law “On Working
Activity”. H.Kharatian said that the bill “On National Minorities”
envisages free use of the national language, possibility to get
education in the native tongue, preservation of the cultural values,
etc. She drew attention to one of the clauses of the bill relating to
the formation of the electoral bodies of the communities. According
to H.Kharatian, this circumstance will contribute to more effective
cooperation of the national minorities with the executive power.

IN SOFIA, FM GUL DISCUSSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MATTER WITH FRENCH FM

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
source: Hurriyet
May 1 2006

At an unofficial meeting of NATO ministers last week in the Bulgarian
capital of Sofia, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul touched on
the Armenian genocide matter in comments to French Foreign Minister
Philippe Douste-Blazy.

Referring to the drafts of 5 different bills in the French Parliament
which propose jail sentences for people denying the Armenian genocide,
Gul said to Blazy: “You are planning on giving prison sentences to
those who deny the Armenian genocide. But let’s say that either I or
the President of Turkey make an official visit to France, and that at
a press conference there, upon questioning from reporters, we say ‘The
accusations of genocide are lies. They have no ties to reality.’ What
would you do, throw us in prison? Would this suit France, a country
which is one of the champions of freedom of expression and thought
in Europe? So you are essentially giving one side the right to do
whatever they want, while you deny the other side the right to express
its feelings about lies that are being told about it. This perspective
runs contrary to European values.”

Canadian firms not invited to bidding for Sinop reactor

With regards to other countries’ recent stances on the Armenian
genocide, the Canadian government went ahead on April 24 to make
announcements accusing Turkey of genocide against the Armenians.

Following on this, a decision was made in Ankara not to invite Canadian
companies to take part in bidding for contracts in the building of the
nuclear power plant planned for the Black Sea city of Sinop. French
companies are widely considered to be in front running for contracts
connected to the planned Sinop nuclear power plant.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Four Soldiers Judged in Baku for «Cooperation with Armenians»

29.04.2006 19:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A preparation session on the case of four
servicemen, accused on article 274 (parricide) and 338.1 (violation of
combat post rules) was held in Azerbaijan. All the four are accused of
«conveying secret information to the Armenian party.» Binali
Mamedaliyev, Shakhiyar Ismailov, Shamhal Aghajamaliyev, Parviz Habibov
served in Fizuli region.

«During their service, they were recruited by Armenians and cooperated
with them. The trial is scheduled to begin on May 4. Owing to presence
of secret information, the process will be held behind closed
doors. This is not the first case of the kind, when Azeri soldiers are
judged for cooperation with Armenians,» reports Day.az.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
April 28, 2006 Friday 7:18 PM MSK

Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan – Armenian minister (Part 2)

STEPANAKERT April 28

Nagorno-Karabakh will never be a part of Azerbaijan, said Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

“I don’t know what status the Nagorno-Karabakh republic will have,
but I know for sure what it will not be, namely, Nagorno-Karabakh
will never be within Azerbaijan. This is absolutely impossible,”
Oskanian said speaking at the Nagorno-Karabakh State University in
Stepanakert.

Oskanian is on a working visit to Stepanakert to hold consultations
with the leadership of the self-proclaimed republic.

“The wheel of history cannot be turned backwards, and all that
Azerbaijan is saying about granting Nagorno-Karabakh a highest
possible level of autonomy within its borders should not be taken
seriously,” he said.

The Armenian diplomatic corps sees its task in ensuring international
recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence, although this is
“quite a difficult problem,” Oskanian said.

The foreign minister also called the creation of a comprehensive
security system for the Armenian people an important component of
Armenia’s foreign policy. In this context, he particularly mentioned
strategic partnership with Russia, with which Armenia has a bilateral
agreement on mutual assistance in case of aggression against either
party.

Talking about possible compromises that Armenia could agree to in the
negotiations on settling the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, Oskanian
said “no concessions can be made” as regards Nagorno-Karabakh’s
sovereignty, security, and permanent land communication with Armenia.

Armenia is open to discussing any other issues concerning the
consequences of the conflict on condition that Azerbaijan recognizes
the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-determination, Oskanian
said.

The only reason why Nagorno-Karabakh is not involved in the
negotiating process between Baku and Yerevan is Azerbaijan’s refusal
to maintain dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh, the minister said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is formally a province of Azerbaijan populated
mostly by ethnic Armenians, control over which Baku lost in a bloody
conflict with Yerevan in the 1990s.