Author: Badalian Vardan

200 INVALID CHILDREN UNDERGO MEDICAL EXAMINATION IN ARMAVIR WITHIN FRAMEWORK OF “HEALTHY START” PROGRAM
Noyan Tapan
Jun 21 2006
ARMAVIR, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. The “Nariri” NGO engaged in problems of
invalid children in the marz of Armavir, in which about 450 children
are involved, showed regular assistance to invalid children on June 20
within the framework of the “Healthy start” program. Invalid children’s
medical examination was organized at the pediatrics department of
the Armavir polyclinical center on that day. Nune Alexanian, the
responsible for the “Arabkir” medical center of Yerevan held the
medical examination. To recap, medical examination of invalid children
was held on the same day in the rural communities of Karakert and
Dalarik as well.
The main goal of the program is to examine invalid children. 200
invalid children already underwent medical examination in the marz
within the framework of the program.
This medical examination will finish late this week, when a group
of doctors of the “Arabkir” center will visit Armavir. The latters
will hold a final medical examination based on examinations of the
whole week.

WORK OF NEWPAPER “SYUNYATS YERKIR” HALTED BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRICIANS
A1+
[02:29 pm] 21 June, 2006
The director and two deputy directors of “Tatev” branch of “Armenian
Electricity Network” CJSC visited the editorial office of newspaper
“Syunyats Yerkir” and deprived them of electricity.
The problem emerged after the newspaper published an article titled
“The energy system of Syunik is corrupted” in the June 15 issue of
the current year.
During the discussion of the article the newspaper offered the heads
of “Tatev” branch to answer the criticism within the framework of
the law if they have something against the material printed in the
newspaper. But the authorities of the branch were not content with
it. By order of Arayik Grigoryan, the director of the branch, the
editorial office was immediately deprived of electricity. As a result
of this the newspapers was forced into a standstill.
“What took place testifies to the fact that the energy system of
Syunik is really fully corrupted. It proves that the terror against the
newspaper which started two years ago still continues”, the statement
of the newspaper says.
The editorship of the newspaper applied to Robert Kocharyan as the
guarantee of the Constitution asking to stop the persecution of the
newspaper and give them a chance to resume work.

GAZPROM’S INTEREST IN GEORGIA’S GAS PIPELINE MAY FADE
RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
June 20 2006
RBC, 20.06.2006, Moscow 17:27:15.Gazprom is still interested in the
acquisition of Georgia’s gas transportation system, but this interest
may fade, Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov declared at a press
conference today. He said Georgian officials were slowing down the
process. According to Ryazanov, the negotiations have been completed,
but the government of Georgia is still thinking the deal over and
hasn’t voiced its final decision yet. “I’m afraid Gazprom’s interest
may fade,” the Deputy CEO of the Russian gas giant reported, adding
that he had no idea what Georgia might need the backbone gas pipeline
for since it was in a terrible condition at present.
Ryazanov also stressed Gazprom still couldn’t ensure a smooth transit
of gas to Armenia via Georgia.

ISTANBUL TO WELCOME HEAD OF ARMENIAN CHURCH
Pravda, Russia
June 20 2006
Karekin II, whose official title is Catholicos of All Armenians, has
issued statements saying Turks committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I. Turkish nationalist protests during
his visit are likely.
Karekin’s official title is Catholicos of All Armenians.
Turkey has no relations with Armenia, and vehemently denies that Turks
committed genocide, saying Armenians who lived under the Ottoman
Empire were killed in internal fighting among ethnic groups as the
empire collapsed, the AP reports.

PLANE’S ENGINE WORKING BEFORE BLACK SEA CRASH
Irish Examiner, Ireland
June 19 2006
The Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea last month
killing all 113 people aboard was intact, with its engines operating
normally and enough fuel to land prior to impact, a Russian
investigating commission said today.
The Armavia Airbus A320 was also under manual control by its pilots
up to the moment of the May 3 pre-dawn catastrophe near the Russian
port of Sochi, the Transport Ministry commission said in a statement.
The commission, which based its conclusions on an analysis of the
plane’s “black box” flight recorders, did not assign blame for
the crash.
Prosecutors have dismissed the possibility that terrorists had brought
the plane down, and officials point to rough weather or pilot error
as the likely cause.
Armavia officials have suggested that air traffic controllers were
at least partly to blame, for giving the pilots improper instructions.
The commission said it planned further analysis of the recorders and
computer modelling to determine a cause. The flight was en route to
Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

AZERBAIJANI ‘FIRE’ FABLE
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
20/06/2006
The recent favorite topic of Azerbaijani online newspapers was “the
conflagration of fields” by Armenians in non-existent bordering
settlements.
Moreover, the made-up tumult grew into accusation and false
denunciation to international structures “on annihilation of Azeri
settlements by the Armenians.”
Perhaps the cause for worry about these extremely dubious settlements
is conflagration in Nagorno Karabakh lowlands that cannot be stifled
because of the firing from the Azeri side.
It should be reminded that a few years ago authorities in Nagorno
Karabakh applied to the Azerbaijani side via the OSCE Minsk Group
suggesting to cooperate in stifling the seasonal fires.
It’s not something new that the Azeri side does not discern methods
used against the Armenian side. If editing of their own officials’
statements is an everyday business, it is perhaps the boredom that
makes Azerbaijani journalists to bring diversity in the anti-Armenian
propaganda by using illogical creativity. Such as declaration of
uncommitted genocide, for one, or “subversive fires”, quotations from
Zori Balayan’s “unwritten book” etc.

TURKS SEE THE PRESENCE OF US TROOPS IN IRAQ GREATER DANGER TO WORLD PEACE THAN IRAN
ABHaber, Belgium
EU-Turkey News network
June 15 2006
Turks see the presence of US troops in Iraq as a greater threat
to Mideast stability than govt in Iran and its nuke ambitions,
according to Pew Research Center’s poll of European and Muslim
countries Turkish support for war in Iraq dropped sharply from 33 pct
in 2002 to 12 percent this year, while 61 pct oppose Iran’s acquiring
nuclear weapons. At 3 pct, Turkey now registers the lowest level of
confidence in President Bush.
As divisions between West and Muslim nations in opinions of Hamas
victory are wider, 44 pct of Turks see Hamas victory as good for the
Palestinian people while 23 pct think the opposite.
Significant part of opinion poll shows that negative views of France
have risen over past year, especially in Muslim-populated countries.
In Turkey, 61 pct feel unfavorably toward France, up from 51 pct
last year
The majority of Turks see the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq as a
greater threat to stability in the Mideast than the controversial
government in Iran, according to a new poll of European and Muslim
countries.
The Pew Research Center’s opinion poll released this week found that
Turks are increasingly turning away from the U.S.-declared “war on
terror.” More than three-quarters of Turks (77 percent) oppose the
U.S.-led war on terror, up from 56 percent in 2004, while 61 percent
of the participants oppose Iran’s acquiring nuclear weapons.
Turkish support for the war in Iraq dropped sharply from 33 percent
in 2002, the beginning of the war, to 12 percent as of 2006.
People in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Russia also rated
America’s continuing involvement in Iraq a worse problem than Iran
and its nuclear ambitions. Views of U.S. troops in Iraq were even
more negative in countries like Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan.
But the war in Iraq trumps the Iranian situation as a perceived
danger to the world at a time when the image of the U.S. and its war
on terrorism continues to drop internationally.
Even in Britain, the U.S.’ closest ally in Iraq, 41 percent of those
surveyed said the U.S. military presence in Iraq was a danger to world
peace and only 34 percent described the Iranian government as a danger.
International opinion on the future of Iraq is generally gloomy.
Majorities in most countries surveyed believe that efforts to establish
a stable democratic government in Iraq will ultimately fail. Pessimism
is strongest in Spain, Turkey, Germany, Jordan, and Egypt — in all
five countries, more than six in 10 respondents believe efforts to
establish democracy will definitely or probably fail.
Iraq is one of many issues that pushes a negative view of the U.S.,
said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center.
“Last year we saw some good news in countries like Russia and India,”
Kohut said. “That good news being wiped away is a measure of how
difficult a problem this is for the U.S. “Western countries share
some points of view,” Kohut said, noting mutual concerns about
Iran’s development of a nuclear program and the victory of Hamas in
Palestinian elections. “But Iraq continues to be divisive.”
Opinion of Bush has continued to decline in European countries, while
Muslims-populated publics remain strongly opposed to the American
president. At 3 percent, Turkey now registers the lowest level of
confidence in President Bush.
Western European nations and predominantly Muslim nations have sharply
different views on Iran, which the U.S. claims is developing nuclear
weapons.
Concerning majority Muslim-populated countries’ position towards Iran’s
acquiring nuclear weapons, solid majorities in Turkey (61 percent)
and Indonesia (59 percent) oppose it, but people in Egypt and Jordan
are divided, and most Pakistanis (52 percent) favor Iran acquiring
nuclear weapons. In addition, more people in major industrialized
nations than in Muslim-populated countries believe that Iran wants
a nuclear program to develop weapons, not nuclear energy.
West-Muslim divide on Hamas victory
Divisions between the West and the Muslim world in opinions of the
Hamas Party’s victory in Palestine’s January elections are even wider.
Fully 71 percent of Germans and 69 percent of the French feel the
Hamas triumph will be bad for the Palestinian people, among those
who are aware of the issue. Somewhat fewer Americans (50 percent)
express this view, although just 20 percent think the Hamas triumph
will be a good thing for the Palestinians. Among major U.S. allies,
only the British are divided on Hamas’ election — 34 percent say it
will be bad, while 32 percent take a positive view.
By contrast, large majorities in Pakistan (87 percent), Egypt (76
percent), Jordan (68 percent), and Indonesia (61 percent) feel that
the Hamas Party victory will be good for the Palestinian people,
among those who had heard about the election. In addition, the
Muslim-populated publics surveyed generally feel the Hamas triumph
will increase chances of a fair settlement of the Middle East conflict,
a view opposed by the West.
Some 44 percent of Turks meanwhile think that Hamas’ victory is good
for the Palestinian people, while 23 percent think the opposite.
Another significant part of the opinion poll shows that negative views
of France have increased over the past year, especially in majority
Muslim-populated countries. In Turkey, 61 percent feel unfavorably
toward France, up from 51 percent last year.
Riots of disenfranchised Muslim French youth have likely fueled this
perception worldwide, whereas for Turks, French legislation proposing
that rejection of the Armenian “genocide” be outlawed may also have
played a role.

ANPP’S OPERATION TO BE DISCONTINUED FROM OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBER 15 FOR REFUELING
Noyan Tapan
Jun 14 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The operation of the second power unit
of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) will be discontinued from
October 1 for 45 days for the purpose of regular refueling and repair,
the nuclear plant’s director Gagik Markosian told NT correspondent.
To recap, the RAO UES company, which has assumed the ANPP’s management
since 2003 for a 5-year period, imports nuclear fuel.

INQUIRY COMMISSION YET ANOTHER COVER-UP
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)
The Nation (Kenya)
Jun 14, 2006
The Commission of Inquiry established to investigate the events
surrounding the Armenian brothers is not just a case of too little,
too late, it is yet another outrageous attempt to impede proper
investigations into criminal activities.
The first step should have been to do what Parliament demanded
yesterday: The sacking of Internal Security minister John Michuki and
Immigration minister Gideon Konchella for failing in their duties,
and in order to facilitate proper investigations.
The first cover-up was in the Government’s decision to deport Artur
Margaryan, Artur Sargasyan and their accomplices even before they had
been investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted over the brazen actions
witnessed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last Thursday.
This commission is being established when the suspects have already
being given safe passage out of the country, and are obviously out
of reach of Kenyan law.
In any case, it is obvious that those who helped them get out of the
country will not want them back to answer questions, during which the
Arturs might just give evidence that will be terribly embarrassing
to people in authority.
Questions started being asked about the two brothers as early as
March when they were accused of being mercenaries at the service of
prominent people close to Government.
Even when the Artur brothers were strutting around as if they owned
the place, and presumably deeply embarrassing their protectors, the
Government had the temerity to publicly defend them, issuing more
than one statement claiming they were bona fide investors.
It is only after things started unravelling with the actions seen at
the JKIA and the subsequent police raid on their residence that the
Government started worrying.
It started worrying, not about some individuals in the country who were
a real security risk, but that the activities of these people would
be exposed and the identities of their sponsors in Government revealed.
In the first place, an extremely serious security breach was witnessed
at the JKIA when the Artur brothers brandished guns and drove away
with uninspected luggage.
Then when police raided their house, they came across a treasure
trove of items that were obvious candidates for very vigorous
inspection. These included assault rifles with serial numbers close
to those issued to the presidential guard.
Police also found Kenya passports, police appointment cards, and
high-level security clearance passes for all airports.
Free passage out of the country
In addition, there were bags full of motor vehicle registration plates,
some for diplomatic and Government cars, as well as more than a dozen
motor vehicles, some with Government registration, others with no
number plates at all.
Also, there were uniforms and other items resembling those used by
Kenya’s specialised police units.
And what does the Government do when confronted with matters requiring
serious investigations? It gives the prime suspects free passage out
of the country.
Then when it wants to pretend to be doing something, it suspends a host
of junior officials instead of going straight for the senior officials
and wheeler-dealers who might have used their proximity to the seat
of power to sponsor actions extremely prejudicial to national security.
Setting up a Commission of Inquiry now is really closing the stable
doors after the horse has bolted. More seriously, it is an attempt
to scuttle ongoing investigations by a branch of the Police Force
that appears not to have been compromised by an obviously dangerous
parallel security apparatus and criminal network operating with
official sanction.
The inquiry might also be designed to steal the thunder from an
independent investigation planned by Parliament.
The Government has handled this whole matter very suspiciously. This
reflects badly, not just on an amorphous entity called the “The
Government”, but more directly on President Kibaki personally, whose
whole judgement and probity has been called into question.
No self-respecting individual should be proud to sit in a Commission
of Inquiry designed to be nothing more than a cover-up.

TURKEY TOOK FIRST STEP ON WAY TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
13.06.2006 14:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey signed an agreement on cooperation in
scientific investigations with the EU thus taking the first step on
the way towards the European integration. Yesterday the document
was signed in Luxembourg by 25 EU Foreign Ministers and Turkish
Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gul. The agreement is the
first out of 35 documents Turkey has to sign with the European Union
before the discussion of the terms of the state’s membership in the
European community. The signing of the agreement was nearly blocked
by Cyprus which urged Ankara to fulfill obligations on the terms of
its recognition. It should be noted that presently Turkey recognizes
only the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus located in the northern
part of the island, reported Golos Rossii.