Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

INTENSIVE PROCESS OF GAS SUPPLY RESTORATION TO BE COMPLETED IN ARMENIA BY LATE 2006
Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. As of January 1, 2006, the number of
actual users of ArmRusgazprom company made 531,853 against 485,585
users in the Soviet time. ArmRusgazprom’s Director General Karen
Karapetian said during the May 22 round table that 41 cities and 376
rural communities of Armenia have been provided with gas supply. It
is planned to provide Davidashen and Nor Nork communities of Yerevan
(where there was no gas supply network previously) with gas supply in
June-July. K. Karapetian said that gas supply provision work of 899.3
mln drams (about 2 mln USD) was done in the first quarter of this
year, as a result of which the number of actual users has increased
by another 11,624, while that of possible users – by 5,100. It was
noted that the intensive stage of gas supply restoration process will
be completed in Armenia by 2007. The company has launched a move,
under which those to submit an application for gas supply provision
in the period from April 1 to August 1 may become ArmRusgazprom’s
users without making a prepayment of 40,000 drams. According to
K. Karapetian, under agreements signed with Converse Bank and Anelik
Bank, credits will be given to citizens to carry out in-house assembly
work. The credist are repayable over a year and carry interest rates
of 18-22%. The in-house work is done by ArmRusgazprom only.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN, GREEK CYPRIOT EFFORTS TO BLOCK MISSILE SALE TO TURKEY FAIL
Cumhuriyet
Turkish Press
May 22 2006
Press Review
Attempts by four US congressmen close to the Armenian and Greek
Cypriot lobbies to prevent the US selling air-to-ground SLAM-ER
missile systems have ended in failure. Pentagon officials said that
the congressmen’s objections weren’t enough to block the sales of
the missile systems. The Pentagon made an announcement to Congress
on April 28 about selling 50 AGM-84K air-to-ground SLAM-ER missile
systems to Turkey for the use of Turkish Air Forces. The planned sale
of the project is worth up to $162 million.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN LAW IN FRANCE DROPPED FOR NOW
By Ali Ihsan Aydin
Zaman, Turkey
May 19 2006
The legislative bill penalizing those who deny the so-called Armenian
genocide in France has been postponed indefinitely.
The motion discussed in yesterday’s morning session of the French
Parliament was dropped as the allotted time ran out.
Parliamentary Speaker Jean-Louis Debre had to twice pause the tense
session to reestablish order.
Deputies and Armenians supporting the motion accused Debre of extending
other discussions deliberately to drop the motion.
Armenians angered by the result caused a commotion in the parliament’s
audience gallery.
Foreign Minister Philippe Doust-Blazy, speaking on behalf of the
government, objected to the motion and appealed to French deputies
to not to inscribe history with laws.
The Socialist Party (PS), which made the legislative proposal, placed
the genocide bill as a second item on the agenda although it had the
right to arrange it anyway it wanted.
While talks on the first item on the agenda continued, some socialist
parliamentarians reacted saying talks were extended deliberately.
Since the proposal would automatically fail if it were not voted
at the first section where PS had the right to arrange the agenda,
parliamentarians wanted to start the genocide proposal sooner.
President of the parliament Jean-Louis Debre, upset with the protests,
reminded that it was not himself who formulated the agenda but the
socialists.
When the socialist parliamentarians rebelled again, tension increased
in the parliament.
Members of PS accused Debre of his attempts to fail the proposal
since Tuesday.
Members of UMP, who support the proposal, said, “Do not fall into
their trap, they want to deceive you”.
Upon the increase of the tension Debre gave two breaks.
Many parliamentarians, who wanted to discuss the first item on the
agenda, did not make their speech to proceed to the genocide proposal.
It took an hour to proceed to the proposal, but Debre ended the
section after a few talks because of the time constraint. Thus,
the proposal was dropped out of the agenda.
PS Group Leader Jean Marc Ayroult held the government and Debre
accountable for the cancellation of the bill.
Ayroult said UMP did its best to postpone the bill and accused UMD
of playing small tricks to reach its goal.
Armenian Originated French politician Patrik Deveciyan, who was angry
after the session, said the postponement of the bill is a result of
the lobby activities Turkey launched in all areas.
The Armenians who came to the parliament to watch the session created
chaos after the bill was postponed.
The crowd sang the French National Anthem and did not leave the
building.
PS Secretary-General Francois Hollande approached them requesting
them to remain calm.
The Armenians organized demonstrations near the parliament and
protested the decision.
The Turks, on the other hand, chained themselves and taped their
mouths. Some held banners in their hands saying “Do not restrict our
freedom,” and “Do not prevent the realities from being revealed.”
French Government Opposes Genocide Bill
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, representing the
government in the parliamentary session yesterday, said if the bill
is enacted the French Parliament will have interfered in history and
cited his opposition to the proposal.
The minister, who recalled the agreement on “leaving the history to
the historians” invoked in the parliamentary discussion regarding the
law of colonialism said, “The French Parliament is again attempting
to interfere in written history.”
The foreign minister said enactment of the bill will harm long-standing
Turkish-French affairs and the dialogue process between Turkey and
Armenia.
Douste-Blazy reminded that more than 300000 Turkish people lived
together with people of Armenian origins in France, and said the bill
will affect “human relations.”
From: Baghdasarian

NO BACKING FOR GENOCIDE BILL
Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
May 19 2006
Paris: The French government said yesterday it would not support
a proposed Bill to punish anyone denying Armenian genocide claims
because it would upset Turkey, the alleged perpetrator of the killings.
Turkish officials have warned France of “irreparable damage” to
bilateral ties if Paris passes the law, presented in parliament by
the opposition Socialists.
Ankara recalled its ambassador to France this month and a leading
deputy there warned of a possible boycott of French goods.
But without the support of the ruling UMP party, the Bill is unlikely
to ever become law.
Turkey denies claims that 1.5 million Armenians perished in a
genocide committed by Ottoman forces during and immediately after
World War One. Around 400,000 people of Armenian descent live in
France, Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.
“We cannot accept this proposed law,” Foreign Minister Philippe
Douste-Blazy told deputies during a debate on the Bill.
“The Armenian cause is just and should be defended and respected,”
he said. “But the Bill you have submitted today would, if passed,
be considered as an unfriendly gesture by a large majority of Turks,
whether you want this or not.
“That could have serious political consequences and weaken our
influence, not only in Turkey but in the whole region.” Turkish media
say the Bill is an attempt by politicians to court the Armenian vote
as France gears up for presidential elections in 2007.
Turkey says the Armenians who died after World War One were victims
of partisan fighting that claimed even more Turkish lives as the
Ottoman Empire collapsed.
The Bill suffered a second blow yesterday when deputies had to cut
short the debate for time reasons. The next time they can review it
under the procedure used for this debate is next November, they said.
Groups of Armenians and Turks demonstrated outside the National
Assembly as the debate was taking place.
From: Baghdasarian

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:
PRESS RELEASE
May 19, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE MAINTAINS MILITARY AID PARITY
BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
— Proposes $62 million for Armenia; Up to $5 million for Karabagh
Washington, DC – Early reports from Capitol Hill sources indicate
that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations
today approved by voice vote to maintain military assistance parity
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, despite the Bush Administration’s
request to break the parity agreement and provide 40% more in
assistance to Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA.)
Sources on Capitol Hill reported that the key foreign aid panel
also allocated $62 million in U.S. aid for Armenia and $5 million
for Nagorno Karabagh for fiscal year (FY) 2007. The amount
represents a $12 million increase over President Bush’s FY 2007
budget request, but is lower than last year’s appropriation of $75
million. The Subcommittee also rejected efforts by Azerbaijan’s
lobbyists to weaken Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to
Azerbaijan, due to its ongoing blockades of Armenia and Nagorno
Karabagh.
Overall, the Subcommittee approved $21.3 billion in foreign aid
spending, an increase of $600 million over last year’s budget.
“We commend the members of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee for
contributing to the continued stability of the Caucasus by
maintaining parity in military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan and
fighting back attempts to further weaken Section 907,” stated Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We also appreciate the
efforts of our friends to increase Armenia’s assistance above the
level proposed by the President and to provide $5 million in aid to
Nagorno Karabagh. We look forward to action by the Senate – and
later in conference committee – to bring assistance to Armenia to
at least last year’s figure of $75 million,” added Hamparian.
Military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan will include
$3.5million in foreign military finance (FMF) and $790,000 in
International Military and Education Training (IMET). Economic
assistance to Azerbaijan was set at $29 million, $1 million more
than the Administration’s budget request.
“We want to express our appreciation to Congressman Joe Knollenberg
for his advocacy within the Subcommittee, to thank Chairman Jim
Kolbe and Ranking Member Nita Lowey for their leadership, and to
share our gratitude for the support of John Sweeney, Steve Rothman,
Mark Kirk, and Chaka Fattah., and our other friends on this vitally
important panel,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
ANCA.
On March 16th of this year, Representative George Radanovich (R-
CA)and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-
NJ)sent a letter to the leadership of the Subcommittee, cosigned by
48of their House colleagues, calling for an earmark of at least
$75million for Armenia; maintaining equal levels of military aid
for Armenia and Azerbaijan; an additional $5 million in direct aid
to Nagorno Karabagh for FY 2007, and; keeping in place the Section
907 restriction on aid to Azerbaijan.
The names of the fifty signatories are as follows: Tom Allen (D-
ME), Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Howard Berman(D-
CA), Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Eric Cantor (R-VA), Lois Capps(D-
CA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA),
Joseph Crowley (D-NY), William Delahunt (D-MA), David Dreier(R-CA),
Eliot Engel (D-NY), Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), Barney Frank (D-MA),
Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Michael Honda (D-CA),Dale
Kildee (D-MI), James Langevin (D-RI), Sander Levin (D-MI),Frank
LoBiondo (R-NJ), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY),
Edward Markey (D-MA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Thaddeus McCotter(R-MI),
James McGovern (D-MA), John McHugh (R-NY), Michael McNulty(D-NY),
Martin Meehan (D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-
NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Collin Peterson (D-MN), George Radanovich
(R-CA), Bobby Rush (D-IL), H. James Saxton (R-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-
CA), Joe Schwarz (R-MI), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Brad Sherman (D-
CA), Rob Simmons (R-CT), Mark Souder (R-IN), Edolphus Towns (D-NY),
Diane Watson (D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and
Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).
From: Baghdasarian

ARMAVIA AIRLINE LEASES ANOTHER AIRBUS A-319
Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. The air fleet of the national airline of
Armenia – Armavia company – has been replenished with another Airbus
A-319 today, Armavia press service told ArmInfo.
A-319 produced in 2004 has been leased from Toulouse. It underwent
servicing in Mexico and had been exploited for only 1 year up to
December 2005 by an American airline. It is a 134-seat airbus – 8
business-class and 126 economy-class. According to Armavia’s data,
it has two A-319 Airbuses, one A-320 Airbus and two Yak-42.
Earlier Armavia Director General Norayr Beluyan told ArmInfo that the
existing air fleet satisfies the time-table. However, the airline
is negotiating to lease a not large 70-75-seat American plane CRG
for middle-distance flights. In addition, Armavia plans to open
Yerevan-Milan and Yerevan-New York-Los Angeles flights. For this
purpose, the airline intends to lease Airbus A-330 and Boeing- 767.
To recap, one of Armavia’s A-320 Airbuses has recently crashed near
Sochi another A-320 burnt at the “Sabina Technics” aircraft repair
base in Brussels.
From: Baghdasarian

CANADIAN PM CONGRATULATES ANCC ON OPENING OFFICE IN OTTAWA
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2006 16:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, has
sent a congratulatory message to the Armenian National Committee of
Canada (ANCC) on the occasion of the opening of its national office
in Ottawa. As the ANCC told PanARMENIAN.Net, the message specifically
says, “The Armenian-Canadian community has made a profound contribution
to Canada in many domains. Your new permanent office in the nation’s
capital will ensure that Parliament and the Government of Canada are
aware of the concerns and aspirations of Armenian-Canadians.” Over 30
MPs and Senators attended ANCC’s national office opening on April 25.
The Prime Minister’s heartfelt sentiments and initiative are greatly
appreciated by tens of thousand members and supporters of ANCC,
said Aris Babikian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National
Committee of Canada. “We are proud and honored with our association
and cooperation with the Prime Minister. It is a great pleasure to
see a government and a Prime Minister with such a compassionate and
principled feelings towards Canadians and their concerns.”
From: Baghdasarian

40 KM OF ROADS TO BE REPAIRED IN GEGHARKUNIK MARZ THIS YEAR
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
GAVAR, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. 2 bln 800 mln drams (about 6.2 mln USD) was
allocated from the state budget for road construction in Gegharkunik
marz in 2006. In addition, 450 mln drams will be made available by an
IFAD program. NT correspondent was informed at the road construction
and transport department of the Gegharkunik regional administration
that this year’s allocations exceed 3fold those in 2005. A large
share of the indicated financial resources will be used for major
repairs of roads of the total lenght of 40 km. A 30-km section of
Martuni-Vardenis Road, 4.8-km section of Tsovaghyugh-Shorzha-Dzoravank
Road and a 5.2-km section of Dilijan-Dzoravank Road will undergo major
repair. The whole Gavar-Geghakunik motorway 10.4 km in length will be
repaired with IFAD funds. 530 mln drams was earmarked for operation
and winter maintenance of roads of the total length of 346.1 km.
From: Baghdasarian

“WE DO NOT DISPOSE OF INFORMATION ON PRESENCE OF AZERI PRISONERS OF WAR IN ARMENIA”
Panorama.am
18:21 17/05/06
The International Committee Of The Red Cross Armenian Mission
Delegate Catherine Patronoff Stated In An Interview With De Facto
Information-Analytics Agency
The Azeri mass media have been recently discussing the issues referring
to prisoners of war, hostages and persons reported missing during
the Karabakh conflict.
Alluding to Azerbaijan State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages
and Missing Persons, various data have been made public about the
quantity of the citizens of Azerbaijan, who are allegedly in “the
Armenian captivity”. According to the latest statements, there are
4600 prisoners, including babies, in the Armenian captivity. And yet
it is stressed that the International Committee of the Red Cross does
not make efforts to free the people.
DE FACTO Information-Analytics Agency appealed to the International
Committee of the Red Cross Armenian Mission delegate Catherine
PATRONOFF to receive the impartial information on the issue painful
for both parties.
– Mrs. Patronoff, does the information disseminated by the Azeri mass
media on presence of 4600 Azeri prisoners in the Armenian captivity
correspond to reality?
– Publications concerning presence of the Azeri prisoners in Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh, as well as the Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan
appear regularly.
The International Committee of the Red Cross cannot confirm the
information. I have heard about tens, hundreds of prisoners; however,
it is the first time I have heard about 4600 Azeri prisoners. I believe
the publications’ authors confuse the notions “a prisoner” and “a
person reported missing”. State Commissions in Azerbaijan and Armenia
deal not only with the problems of prisoners, but those reported
missing, perhaps, it is for that reason that the muddle has appeared.
The International Committee of the Red Cross’s mandate assumes work in
the conflict zone during hostilities; however, it goes on working after
concluding an armistice as well. The ICRC has been working in Armenia
and Azerbaijan since 1992. We take guidance from the principles of
the international law, first of all basing ourselves on the Geneva
conventions, to which Armenia and Azerbaijan acceded as well. The
Delegation is working in various directions; one of the main goals is
visiting prisoners of war and participation in their repatriation as a
neutral mediator. Since 1992 our organization has participated in 656
repatriations of prisoners of war or civil persons. The representatives
of the Delegation regularly visit the places of imprisonment. I
would like to repeat that we have no information on presence of the
Azeri prisoners here, in Armenia. I was more surprised learning that,
allegedly, there are babies in the Armenian captivity. It means that
the babies or their mothers were taken prisoners not long ago.
However, we do not dispose of the information.
– How successful is the cooperation between the ICRC and the Armenian
side, in part, State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and
Missing Persons, developing?
-We constantly cooperate with the leadership of Armenia. We have
admission to all the places of imprisonment, the Armenian authorities
do not hamper our activity, and we can visit the prisons any time.
We collaborate, in particular, with Ministry of Defense of Armenia
on the issues referring to funding facts concerning those reported
missing, exchange and verify the lists. Sometimes there are variances:
the names mentioned in the lists of the Ministry of Defense are
not in our lists. In such cases we contact with the families of
the persons reported missing and suggest that we should form a
questionnaire. According to the Geneva conventions, the country’s
leadership must take steps to define the people’s fate, and our
organization promotes settlement of the issues. We also meet with
the representatives of various ministries to resolve a number of
humanitarian issues.
As for the cooperation between the ICRC and RA State Commission on
Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, I should remark we
have made no advance recently.
– How many Armenians are there in the lists of missing persons,
according to the ICRC data?
– According to our data, there are about 350 missing persons from
Armenia and some 350 citizens from Nagorno Karabakh. I would like to
note that we cannot guarantee absolute accuracy of the data, as the
questionnaires are being formed till now, as not all the relatives
of the missing persons applied to the Red Cross in time, so there
may be some difference in figures.
Actually, it is not important how many persons have been reported
missing from one or another party. We go on working to solve the
problem. By the end of the year the ICRC plans to start working on
collection of physical characteristics, identification data of those
reported missing. It is very important for the Commissions on Prisoners
of War, Hostages and Missing Persons to jointly resolve the problem,
cooperate and exchange information.
From: Baghdasarian

RATE OF DIVORCE AND AIDS GREW
Lragir.am
17 May 06
The National Statistics Service reports that in the first quarter of
2006 4100 marriages were registered compared with the 4164 marriages
in the first quarter of 2005. Unlike marriages, the rate of divorce
is 831 against 498 in the first quarter of 2005.
The cases of AIDS/HIV grew as well. If in March 2005 no cases of AIDS
were reported, and only three people contracted HIV, in March 2006
7 cases of AIDS and 8 cases of HIV were reported.
From: Baghdasarian