Author: Antonian Lara

ARMENIAN JOURNALIST ORGANIZATIONS MARK WORLD DAY OF PRESS FREEDOM
Noyan Tapan
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. At the beginning of the press conference
convened at the Armenian Journalists’ Union on the occasion of the
World Day of Press Freedom those present stood in silence in memory of
the victims of the crashed A-320 plane of Armavia airline. Touching
upon the event of the day, Union Chairwoman Astghik Gevorgian
said that freedom of speech is one of the greatest achievement of
RA independence. According to Yerevan Press Club Chairman Boris
Navasardian, May 3 in the whole world is considered not so much a
holiday as an occasion to raise issues connected with freedom of
press and speech. In particular, UNESCO that has announced May 3
as the World Day of Press Freedom put forward the role of press in
poverty reduction as the main problem.
And the World Association of Newspapers as the main problem mentioned
protection of the journalists who are in prisons. According to
B.Navasardian, only in 2005, 500 journalists were imprisoned. The
Yerevan Press Club, the Armenian Journalists’ Union, the Internews
NGO and the Committee on Protection of Freedom of Speech made a
statement, in which they raised a number of problems of the Armenian
media. The legislative reforms in the sphere of mass media, raising
of the role of press in fighting corruption, in struggle against
violation of citizens’ rights, assistance to free and transparent
political disputes and unbiassed coverage are among them. The first
prize-winner of the prize set by the above-mentioned organizations in
connection with the World Day of Press Freedom became editor of the
“Aravot” newspaper Aram Abrahamian.

GERMAN PRESIDENT AND CHANCELLOR SEND TELEGRAMS OF CONDOLENCE TO RA PRESIDENT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On May 3, German
President Ho rst Kohler and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent
telegrams of condolence to RA President Robert Kocharian in connection
with the accident of Armavia airline’s Yerevan-Sochi A-320 plane. “We
ask to present our condolences to the relatives of the victims and
to the mourning people, we are with them mentally on these days” the
German President’s telegram provided to Noyan Tapan from the Embassy
of Germany in Armenia read. The telegram of the German Chancellor,
in particular, read: “I would like to extend my deep condolences to
you on behalf of the Federal government. Please, convey our sincere
condolences to the families and relatives of the victims”. German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also sent a telegram of
condolence to RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.

INSURANCE COMPANY TO PAY $20 THOUSAND TO FAMILIES OF AIR CRASH VICTIMS
PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2006 23:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ MIKA Ltd. President and owner of Armavia company
Mikhail Baghdasarov confirmed insurance will be paid to families of
the victims of A-320 plane crash. “The air company annually paid
several million dollars of insurance and now it will pay some $20
thousand to relatives of the air crash victims.”
Mikhail Baghdasarov noted the crashed plane had no problems and enough
fuel. He called to wait for the conclusion of French specialists and
independent experts. In Baghdasarov’s words, the air catastrophe
inflicted rather large financial and moral damage to the company,
reports the Public TV Company of Armenia.

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.