Author: Chalian Meline

ARMENIA, MACEDONIA RAPPED FOR RIGHTS ABUSE BY COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Agence France Presse — English
November 16, 2006 Thursday 3:49 PM GMT

Rights abuse remained rife at the hands of police and prison
authorities in Armenia and Macedonia, the Council of Europe’s Committee
for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) said in separate reports issued
this week.

Reporting Thursday on an ad hoc visit to Armenia in April 2004,
triggered by complaints of police brutality during an anti-government
protest, the CPT said some of the allegations of misconduct were
substantiated, including police punches, blows and kicks against
protestors and the use of Russian-made "sound/light bombs", also
known as electric truncheons.

"The CPT calls upon the Armenian authorities to make it clear to all
police and National Security Service staff that the ill-treatment of
persons in custody is illegal," the report said.

The committee, which said the authorities had collaborated with
its investigators, asked to receive copies of follow-up forensic
reports on the incident and to be kept informed of investigations
into complaints of police misconduct.

Given the lack of trained anti-riot squads, it also urged that
the country provide specific training for police regarding crowd
control and ensure that allegations of misconduct by detainees be
systematically recorded by judges as well as by medical staff.

In a separate report on Macedonia, summing up the CPT’s fifth visit
to the country, also in 2004, the committee looked at how detainees
were treated by law enforcement agencies and examined accountability
for ill-treatment as well as the situation in remand prisons.

While there were no complaints at Geevvelija or Stip remand prisons,
there were problems at the overcrowded Skopje prison, where one inmate
showed bruises consistent with beatings.

Showers were allowed only every two weeks.

The CPT said ill-treatment by police remained significant, citing
"severe beating with batons or wooden sticks to extract a confession."

"The CPT recommends that senior police officers regularly instruct
their subordinates that ill-treatment will not be tolerated," the
report said.

It also reminded the authorities of the right of people being held
in custody to be guaranteed access to doctors.

LAWYER RULES OUT EXTRADITION OF SAFAROV

Armenpress
Nov 15 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS: Nazeli Vardanian, an Armenian lawyer
who defended the interests of the family of an Armenian officer,
Gurgen Margarian, who was killed by an Azeri counterpart in Budapest
in 2004, ruled out that Safarov, sentenced to life imprisonment by
a Hungarian court, may be extradited to Azerbaijan.

Her remarks come after a report by Azerbaijani news agencies which
quoted a member of Hungarian Constitutional Court as saying during
a visit to Baku that the Safarov may be sent to Baku to serve his
term there.

Nazeli Vardanian said a member of Hungarian Constitutional Court is
not in a position to refer to this case.

Mrs. Vardanian said extradition was ruled out. She also said the
Hungarian Court of Appeals has not yet considered an appeal lodged
by Safarov and his lawyer.

Safarov is being accused also of inciting a squabble with prison
guards where he is kept. She said there was no precedent in Hungary
that a prisoner sentenced to serve life in jail was extradited to
another country.

In February of 2004, while attending a NATO Partnership for Peace
program, Safarov was arrested by Hungarian police for the murder of
Armenian fellow participant Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian . Margarian
had been hacked to death with an axe and a knife.

In addition to Margarian’s murder, Safarov had attempted to murder
captain Hayk Makuchyan, another Armenian officer. A Budapest policeman
commented that the murder had been conducted "with unusual cruelty,"
adding: "beside a number of knife wounds on his chest, the victim’s
head was practically severed from his body."

On April 13th 2006 the Budapest court judge Andras Vaskuti sentenced
Ramil Safarov to life imprisonment (the harshest punishment in Hungary)
without the right of parole for 30 years.

DOCUMENT ON ADOPTION OF EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN SIGNED

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 14 2006

BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. The 7th plenary sitting of the
EU-Armenia Cooperation Council took place in Brussels on November 14.

During the sitting, the EU-Armenia Action Plan within the framework
of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) was approved and took force.

According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, the
Armenian delegation is headed by the Armenian Co-chair of the
EU-Armenia Cooperation Council, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian. Representatives of the EU Presidency: Finland’s Minister
of Foreign Trade and Development Paola Lehtomaki, State Minister of
Germany Gunter Glosser, the EU Special Representative to the South
Caucasus Peter Semneby – are participating in the sitting from the
European side.

P. Lehtomaki opened the sitting, followed by the introductory speech
of the Armenian foreign minister. The EU representative expressed a
high opinion about the Action Plan jointly developed by the EU and
Armenia, asserting the EU’s willingness to start the implementation
of the document’s provisions.

Then the participants addressed the council’s agenda. Various political
issues, including domestic reforms, and human rights issues were
discussed. There was an exchange of opinions on energy issues.

The Armenian side presented the work on diversification of energy
sources in Armenia, particularly the process of constructing the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.

The ceremony of the official adoption of the EU-Armenia Action Plan
within the framework of the ENP took place after the sitting. With
this aim, the Armenian Foreign Minister V. Oskanian and the Finnish
Minister of Foreign Trade and Development P. Lehtomaki signed the
respective document.

The implementation of the action plan envisages the opportunity of
passing from cooperation to a higher level of integration, including
the opportunity of Armenia’s participation in the EU domestic market
and the EU policy and programs in their key direction. The ENP Action
Plan proposes that Armenia establish intensive political, security,
economic and cultural relations with the EU. It is envisaged to
extend and deepen the political cooperation for further development
of mechanisms of political dialog.

The document’s adoption provides an opportunity to implement a whole
package of reforms, up to signing of a new-generation agreement with a
higher status, with the assistance of the European side. As a result
of the document’s implementation, the social, political and economic
systems of Armenia will get closer to the European ones.

The Action Plan attaches special importance to the economic cooperation
of Armenia and the EU: additional financial assistance of the EU,
deepening of trade and economic relations, harmonization of the
economic legislation, continuous reduction of commercial non-tariff
restructions, which will promote investments, export and economic
growth. The EU’s financial assistance to Armenia will also be expressed
through the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI)
proposed by the European commission, which will include the main
part of the EU’s financial assistance and will be used for purposes
of transborder and international cooperation.

During the second part of the day, a regular meeting of the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the participation of the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs will take place.

PARLIAMENT FAILS TO PASS THE BILL ON ALIENATION OF PROPERTY ON SECOND READING

Panorama.am
14:44 14/11/06

The bill on alienation of property for public and state needs was
voted in the parliament for the second reading when there were
obviously not so many deputies in the hall. The bill collected 69
"for" and 4 "abstained." "This is beyond any limits," Aghasi Arshakyan
shouted. When the opposition demanded to show the records of the
voting on the indicator panel, deputies who voted for their friends
quickly left the hall.

Some claimed that the National Assembly chairmanship persistently
wants to push this bill, to which Tigran Torosyan said, "This bill
does not trouble me at all."

The leader of the Armenian Republican Party faction, Galust Sahakyan,
took a word to say, "There were no violations in the voting" making
Tigran Torosyan understand that there is no need to put the bill on
voting again.

However, Torosyan admitted that there were violations during voting
and suggested to vote again. Because there were not so many deputies
in the hall, the voting was postponed for a more proper time. The
parliament proceeded to the discussion on the budget.

JOSE LUIS CRUZ FACES ARCHAK TER-MELIKSETIAN ON UNDERCARD

The Sweet Science
Nov 15 2006

Bobby Pacquiao (27-11-3, 12 KOs) defends his WBC Continental Americas
Lightweight Championship against Hector "El Artillero" Velazquez
(45-11-2, 1NC, 32 KOs) in the 12-round main event of the next VERSUS
Fight Night card in conjunction with Top Rank Boxing on Thursday,
November 16, at 9 PM/ET from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas. The undercard features an 8-round Super Welterweight showdown
between Jose Luis Cruz (33-2-2, 28 KOs), the former Mexican champion
against Archak "Shark Attack" Meliksetian (16-4, 13 KOs).

The 26-year-old Pacquiao, who hails from General Santos City in the
Philippines, currently holds Continental Americas super featherweight
title. He has three wins in his last three fights, defeating former
world champions Kevin Kelley (June, 2006), Carlos Hernandez (October
2005) and Carlos Navarro (June, 2005). In his last bout on June 10
at Madison Square Garden, he KO’d Kelley in the fourth.

Velasquez, from Tijuana, Mexico, has been fighting professionally
for 13 years. In his last fight on September 1 in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, he won a 12-round unanimous decision against Yuri Voronin. He
also won a 10-round decision over Guadalupe Hernandez (June 17, 2006)
and TKO’d Adnan Amador in the second round (May 20, 2006). Prior to
those three wins he lost to Manny Pacquiao by KO in 2005.

Cruz, from Mazaltan , Mexico is the former Mexican welterweight
champion. A 10-year veteran, Cruz, has been in the ring with some of
boxing’s best. He has lost two fights in a row, both by decision, to
former world champions Sharmba Mitchell and Shane Mosley. He TKO’d
Vince Thompson in the 8th round on June 14, 2005. He also sports
a draw with Carlos Baldomir and a KO victory over WBC welterweight
champion Jorge Vaca.

Meliksetian, from Armenia, replaces Anthony "The Messenger" Thompson,
who suffered an eye injury and had to withdraw from the card. The
hard-hitting Meliksetian, who fights out of Paterson, NJ, earned a
four-round TKO over Dillon Carew in his last fight on September 15.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Nov 10 2006

Exhibition `Armenian Question in Documents’ Opened in Istanbul

Source: Trend
Author: A.Aleskerov

10.11.2006

An exhibition `Armenian question in documents’ has been opened in the
building of the Military Museum in Istanbul.

The exposition of the exhibition is based on the documentary material
linked with the decision of the Ottoman Government regarding
resettlement of the Armenians, Trend Special Correspondent in Turkey
reports.

The number of documents on display in the Museum includes the
original document of the Government’s decision regarding the
replacement of the Armenians from the military districts, their
lists, letters of Armenians serving in the ranks of the Turkish Army
and photographs of Turkish victims of the Armenian terrorist acts.
The report of the Commander of the Turkish Army, Kazim Karabekir,
concerning the brutality of the Armenian groups against the peaceful
Turkish people is of great interest to the exhibition visitors.

The Museum’s material has been placed on the Internet.

FRENCH GOVERNMENT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE BILL, POUDADE

Anatolian Times, Turkey
Nov 6 2006

MERSIN – French Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade said that the French
government is not supporting the bill criminalizing the denial of
so-called Armenian genocide and qualified it "unnecessary and with
contents of polemic".

Poudade met today Mersin Governor Huseyin Aksoy in order to thank for
the Turkish public’s hospitality shown to the French people who left
Lebanon during the Israeli attacks, and arrived at Mersin to proceed
to France afterwards.

Upon a question during the visit, Poudade noted that the bill in
question was unnecessary and related to polemic. "I believe that
this bill will not pass through the French senate. We need to leave
this issue to historians. Our government does not support the bill",
Poudade expressed.

On the other hand, Governor Aksoy said that he did not desire the
bill to be approved in the senate.

"A re-location which happened under the conditions of the day can
not be perceived as a genocide. Moreover, it does not match with the
genocide definition of the United Nations", Aksoy added.

Governor Aksoy also stressed that they had assisted the transfer of
approximately 10 thousand people from Lebanon, including 1,025 French
men and women. Aksoy added that such an assistance was a social duty
and an item of Turkish tradition.

VYMPELCOM GOING TO STRENGTHEN ARMENTEL’S POSITIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.11.2006 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When commenting on the bargain sealed with Greek
OTE President of VympelCom Russian company Alexander Izosimov said,
"We are glad to announce the agreement, which will allow us to
launch activities in Armenia, the sixth CIS state our company offers
its services to. Covering some 40% of the Armenian cellular market
ArmenTel has a strong position and we are going to consolidate it."

According to the information posted on VympelCom’s website, the
ArmenTel package costs 341.9 million euros plus 40 million euros of
net debt and obligations of the company. The final conclusion of the
bargain will depend on a number of terms including consent of the
Armenian government till end of 2006.

SAHAKYAN SAYS HIS SON TO COOPERATE WITH COMMUNITY HEAD

Panorama.am
13:43 04/11/06

Galust Sahakyan, lead of Armenian Republican Party (HHK) block, told
Panorama.am that the elections for the head of Ajapaniak community
were a precedent for "cleaner and more legal elections."

Sahakyan assures they aim to change the atmosphere in the community. He
said his son, Arman Sahakyan, will cooperate with the newly elected
community head, Ruben Hovsepyan.

Speaking about low turn out at the elections, 25%, Sahakyan said,
"some may have had lost hope, others may have had low level of
belief."

"BLUE DREAMS"

A1+
[07:01 pm] 02 November, 2006

Today the exhibition titled "Boundless Blue" opened in Gevorgyan
exhibition hall within the framework of the days of France in Armenia.

Over 15 art representatives from Gyumri, Yerevan, Paris and Leon
presented their "blue dreams".

Suzy Sahakyan, coordinator of the exhibition claims that it is a
kind of a dialogue, a bridge between the Armenian and French art
representatives.

The style is comparatively free. The themes of the photos are the sea,
dreams, swimming people and mermaids.

One of the participants, Arpineh Tokmajyan simply took a snail and
"turned it into a radio" by passing a radio wire inside the snail.

The exhibition will be taken to Paris in March of 2007 and later
to Leon.