VARTAN OSKANIAN DEPARTED FOR SAN FRANCISCO TO PARTICIPATE IN ARMTECH-2007 FORUM
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.07.2007 13:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian departed
for San Francisco to participate in ArmTech-2007 forum dedicated to
development of high technologies in Armenia. Minister Oskanian is
expected to address the forum July 7, the RA MFA press office reported.
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WHO DO THE FINGERPRINTS BELONG TO?
[05:05 pm] 04 July, 2007
On July 4, Levon Gulyan’s advocate Hrayr Ghukasyan presented the
conclusions of local and international experts. There are differences
in the description of injuries, the advocate said.
To remind, according to official sources, Levon Gulyan was invited to
an interrogation. His attempts to flee were doomed to failure as he
fell down from the second floor.
The local experts hardly touched upon the question. They ignored the
injuries in the right part of the body, and the bruises on Gulyan’s
shoulders and jaw. The experts didn’t answer a most important
question, whether there were bodily injuries on the body inflicted
before the fall. According to international experts some bodily
injuries might have been caused before the fall, noted Hrayr
Ghukasyan.
Another serious argument is that Gulyan’s body didn’t s hit the pipe
sideways, as it was presented in the preliminary conclusion, but on
the back. According to Hrayr Ghukasyan this fact can be deemed as
starting point. `The international experts expressed readiness to
review the case,’ Ghukasyan noted.
The advocate is concerned over a few issues. Gulyan’s relatives don’t
have international experts’ official conclusion. They got acquainted
with the electronic version.
A number of issues still remain mysterious. During the dactyloscopic
examination the fingerprints found on the window of Investigator
Tadevosyan’s office, proved to belong neither to Tadevosyan, nor to
his deputy Mgoyan. This gives ground for serious contemplations.
Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
July 5 2007
Head of PACE Assures Forthcoming Elections in Nagorno-Karabakh will
Not be Recognized by International Community
The forthcoming elections in Nagorno-Karabakh will not be recognized
by the international community, the Chairman of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Rene van der Linden, stated
at a press conference in Yerevan, Armenia, on 4 June, Novosti-Armenia
quoted.
`Frankly speaking, the elections in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be
recognized by the international community,’ he said.
The so-called presidential elections in fabricated Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) may possibly take place on 19 July. Currently five
candidates are battling for the position namely, Bako Saakyan, (the
head of the National Security Service of the NKR), Masis Mailyan,
(the Deputy Foreign Minister of the NKR), Armen Abgaryan (a deputy
with the National Assembly of the NKR), and Vanya Avanesyan (a
tutor).
ANCA HELD 24-HOUR "CALL FOR JUSTICE" CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.07.2007 15:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Thousands of Armenian Americans and human rights
advocates participated in the ANCA National Call-In Days this
week calling for increased bipartisan backing for the adoption of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106) by the U.S. House of
Representatives, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
The June 27th campaign, titled "Call for Justice", was extended by
24 hours, following community requests to expand the program due to
overwhelming interest from local activists.
Over 12,000 visited the ANCA Call-in webpage and more than 2,000
submitted call-feedback forms reporting their conversations with
Congressional offices. The effort is a follow up to April’s successful
"Click for Justice" ANCA WebFax campaign to Congressional offices,
touted as the internet’s largest on-line genocide protest.
"The ANCA’s national congressional call-in day, "Call for Justice",
is a great demonstration of the power of grassroots advocacy," said
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), sponsor of H.Res.106. "These calls are a
useful tool in the fight to get the Armenian Genocide resolution
passed. I thank the ANCA and all their supporters for making these
important calls."
"We want to thank the thousands of our friends – Armenian and
non-Armenian – who took part in National Call-In Day," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "This type of authentic
grassroots activism is vital to building the support we will need
to overcome the deniers who continue to stand in the way of America
speaking with moral clarity on the Armenian Genocide."
The Armenian Genocide Resolution has already gained support of 218
Representatives. It urges the U.S. President to use term ‘genocide’
in his annual April 24 statement.
TURKEY : OPENING OF THE TRIAL AGAINST THE ALLEGED MURDERERS OF HRANT DINK
AB Haber, Belgium
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
EU-Turkey News Network
July 1 2007
Paris, 29 June 2007 – On July 2, 2007, the criminal proceedings against
the alleged murderers of the Turkish journalist, Hrant Dink will begin
in Istanbul. Assassinated on a public street in front of its office in
Istanbul on January 19, 2007, this journalist of Armenian extraction
was at the forefront of the movement in favour of the democratic
reforms in Turkey. As an enthusiastic defender of the entry of Turkey
into the European Union, Dink personified the dialogue between Turks
and Armenians. FIDH has strongly challenged the Turkish authorities
to actively seek the assassins and accomplices of this crime and, on
the occasion of the 36th FIDH Congress, demanded from that the Turkish
justice system carry out a transparent and thorough survey in order
to establish all those responsible in the assassination of Hrant Dink.
Due to the the age of alleged murderer, Ogun Samast, 17 years, the
proceedings will be held behind closed doors. According to the bill
of indictment, he will have to respond to numerous charges, including
"premeditated homicide" and "membership of a terrorist organization".
The prosecutors in the case seek a sentence ranging between 18 and
24 years of prison. He faces an additional sentence from 8,5 to
18 years in prison for membership of a terrorist organization and
illegal possession of a weapon. The two supposed instigators of the
assassination, Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal, face life sentences.
Moreover, the former faces a sentence of between 22,5 and 48 years of
prison for having directed a terrorist act and the latter, 26 years
old, is likely to receive an additional sentence from 18 to 30 years of
prison for the same crimes, in addition to having furnished the money
and the weapon for the crime. Penalties ranging from 7.5 to 35 years
of prison are required against the 15 other alleged accomplices, all
from Trabzon, for complicity in murder and membership in a terrorist
organization.
The criminal investigation carried out by two prosecutors and
the anti-terrorist division of the Istanbul police force revealed
complicity and negligence within the apparatus of State, in particular
in the police and gendarmerie. The police force of Trabzon had
allegedly informed Ankara and Istanbul, as of February 2006, of the
plans of the terrorist organization to kill Hrant Dink. These warnings
were not taken seriously. The governor and the chief of the police
force of Trabzon were transferred, and the chief of the information
of the police force of Istanbul, Ahmet Ilhan Guler was dismissed from
his position and is the subject of an investigation .
The chief of police in Istanbul, Celalettin Cerrah, who had one moment
denied all "political dimensions or organization behind this crime",
was the subject of a preliminary investigation which was stopped on
decision of the governor of Istanbul, who saw no justification for
such an investigation. The lawyers of Hrant Dink made a call for this
decision. The procedure is underway.
Also, an inquest has established ilinks between the terrorist group and
an ultra-nationalist political organization, the Grand Union Party,
and its youth movement, ‘Foyers Alperen’ . The lawyers called for
the detailed examination of these relations during the proceedings.
The Turkish media, moreover, clarified that several people have been
excluded from the framework of the investigations. They revealed that
two people, one linked to the secret service of the gendarmerie and
the other with the Trabzon police force, had repeated correspondance
with the suspects. Tens of telephone contacts with Ogun Samast,
the principal defendant, were recorded for the period preceding the
murder. However, only a part of these conversations would have been
transmitted to the prosecutors in charge of the investigation.
FIDH recalls that it is essential that the case proceeds under
conditions of total safety and transparency, making it possible
for justice to be done in a peaceful manner. FIDH also demands that
light be shed on all who had direct or indirect responsibility in
this assassination, and that the true accomplices be identified,
whomever they are.
In this light, FIDH reiterates its total support for lawyers of the
Dink family and places all of its hopes and attention on the ability
of the Turkish justice system to answer all of the questions raised
in this crime, in particular the possible implication of the police
and gendarmerie but also the failure of the government to protect a
citizen who lived under a notorious threat.
The Irish Times
June 30, 2007 Saturday
Derry face daunting trip to Armenia
by Emmet Malone
SOCCER/Champions League draw: A year ago a run in the Uefa Cup gave
them a taste for European football in the likes of Gothenburg,
Glasgow and, even as they went out, Paris. The downside of Derry
City’s elevation to the Champions League this year, however, was
highlighted yesterday when the draw for the first round of the
competition was made.
The club’s first, and perhaps last, port of call this summer will be
the Armenian capital, Yerevan. If things go well, a trip to Ukraine’s
Donetsk awaits a couple of weeks later.
City will play FC Pyunik twice in successive weeks during the middle
of July. "I don’t really know what to make of it, to be honest," said
the captain and caretaker manager Peter Hutton. "We have to organise
the trip and familiarise ourselves with the team in a very short
space of time and neither will be easy.
"It’s disappointing for the fans, though. We brought a lot of
supporters with us everywhere we went last year but not too many of
them are likely to make it along on this trip. Having said that,
though, if it means that we have a better chance of making it through
to the next round then so be it, that’s the main focus."
The club’s chief executive, Jim Roddy, admitted the draw has left the
club with a lot of work to do. "Getting drawn at home first is
disappointing from a sporting point of view but there is some
consolation here because it gives us an extra week to get everything
organised."
Having talked to people in the know at yesterday’s draw in Nyon,
Roddy said that the general view is that the standard is broadly
similar to that here. Beyond that, however, he conceded it was early
days in terms of gathering information about a team that has won its
championship for the last six years running.
The Pyunik captain, Sargis Hovsepyan’s observation, however, that
"Derry City are not the strongest opponents we could have got in but
Irishmen are very good in the air" at least suggests that current
levels of mutual ignorance are roughly equal.
In the Uefa Cup, Drogheda United and St Patrick’s Athletic enjoyed
starkly contrasting fortunes with the former landing a first-round
tie with SP Libertas, the second best side in San Marino last year,
while John McDonnell and his men have the rather more daunting task
of taking on Denmark’s Odense.
"They are the most difficult team in the seeded pool, they have a
good pedigree," said the club’s director of football, Brian Kerr, who
was in Nyon for the draw. "They have beaten Shels in Europe, they
have gotten to the group stages of the Uefa Cup – and, last season,
they beat Copenhagen in the Danish Cup final. So they’re strong."
Both Irish clubs have been drawn at home although it is understood
the order of United’s games will be reversed over the coming days.
First Round (to be played July 17/18th and 24/25th): Khazar Lenkoran
v D Zagreb; Apoel FC v Bate Borisov; FC Sheriff v FC Ranger’s;
Hafnarfjodur v HB Torshavn; New Saints FC v FK Ventspils; FK Pobeda v
Levadia Tallinn; Olimpi Rustavi v FC Astana; FK Zeta v FBK Kaunas;
Tampere United v SS Murata; F91 Dudelange v MSK Zilina; Linfield v IF
Elfsborg; Derry City v FC Pyunik; Marsaxlokk FC v FC Sarajevo; NK
Domzale v KF Tirana.
Second round (to be played July 31st/ August 1st and August 7/8th):
Derry City/FC Pyunik v Shakhtar Donetsk; Crvena Zvezda v FK
Pobeda/Levadia Tallinn; Rangers v FK Zeta/FBK Kaunas; Debreceni VSC v
Linfield/IF Elfsborg; Zaglebie Lubin v Steaua Bucuresti; KRC Genk v
Marsaxlokk FC/FK Sarajevo; New Saints FC/FK Ventspils v FC Salzburg;
Olimpi Rustavi/FC Astana v Rosenborg; BK Hafnarfjodur/HB Torshavn v
Apoel FC/Bate Borisov; FC Coepenhagen v Beitar Jerusalem; F91
Dudelange/MSK Zilina v Slavia Prague; Tampere Utd/SS Murata v Levski
Sofia; NK Domzale/KF Tirana v Khazar Lenkoran/D Zagreb; Besiktas JK v
FC Sheriff/FC Rangers
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 29 2007
ARMENIAN FM, HEAD OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION DELEGATION STATE ACTIVE
DEVELOPMENT OF BILATERAL RELATIONS
YEREVAN, June 29. /ARKA/. Armenian Foreign minister and Head of the
European Commission delegation in Armenia and Georgia state active
development of bilateral relations between Armenia and the EU.
The Foreign Minister’s press reported that Vardan Oskanian and Per
Eklund said this during their meeting.
Congratulating the Ambassador on the appointment, Oskanian touched
upon the issue of Armenia-EU cooperation at the present stage.
Oskanian pointed out that the cooperation has an extended agenda for
the implementation of which Armenian Foreign Ministry started
cooperation with the delegation.
The sides agreed that Armenia-EU relations actively develop and extra
efforts are needed to implement the action plan with the European
Neighborhood Policy.
Eklund informed that the European Commission decided to raise the
level of their representation in Armenia. The sides exchanged with
opinions on regional issues. L.M. -0–
ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES A GROUP OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN INTELLECTUALS
Today, Azerbaijan
URL:
June 29 2007
On June 28, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a group of
Azerbaijani and Armenian intellectuals, who, on the initiative of the
Ambassadors of the two countries to the Russian Federation and under
the aegis of OSCE, earlier today had visited Khankendi and Shusha in
Nagorno-Karabakh as well as Armenian capital Yerevan, where they met
with President Robert Kocharyan.
The group included Armenia`s Ambassador Plenipotentiary and
Extraordinary in Moscow, professor Armen Smbatian, Rector of the
Yerevan State Conservatoire, professor Sergey Sarachian, President of
Armenia`s National Academy of Sciences, Academician Radik Martirosian,
People`s Artist of Armenia, Artistic Director of the Russian Drama
Theatre, professor Alexander Grigorian, head of the therapy department
at Armenia`s State Hospital Lyudmila Grigorian from Armenian side,
and Azerbaijan`s Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary in
Moscow, People`s Artist of Azerbaijan, professor Polad Bulbuloglu,
Rector of the Baku Music Academy, People`s Artist of the USSR,
professor Farkhad Badalbeyli, Rector of the Baku Slavic University,
corresponding member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences,
professor Kamal Abdulla, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Union of Theatre
Workers, People`s Artist of Azerbaijan, professor Azer Pasha Neymatov
and Honored Engineer of Azerbaijan, businessmen Ilham Fataliyev from
Azerbaijani side.
Reaffirming his country`s position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Nagorno-Karabakh, President Aliyev emphasized that the dispute
could only be solved on the basis of the principles of territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and inviolability of borders, with granting
a high level of self-governance to Nagorno-Karabakh.
AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN AMBASSADORS TO RUSSIA SUDDENLY VISIT NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 28 2007
Azerbaijan, Baku / Òrend corr A. Ismayilova / Azerbaijani and Armenian
Ambassadors to Russia, Polad Bulbuloghlu and Armen Sabatyan, visited
Nagorno-Karabakh, the Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
Khazar Ibrahim, reported to Trend.
Ibrahim noted that it was an initiative of the Ambassadors, who are
former Culture Ministers. They visit the region not only as diplomats.
"The Ambassadors met with the Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian
origin residing in Nagorno-Karabakh, including Arkadiy Gukasyan,"
Ibrahim said.
The Spokesman noted that the visit had been intended to fortify trust
between Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, who will live in the same
territory after resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The conflict
will be settled in one way or another and the visit was organized in
order to provide for a smooth post-conflict period," he noted.
According to Armenian media, the importance of the initiative of
the Ambassadors was noted at the meeting with Gukasyan. According
to Gukasyan, the visit can provide for a healthy and constructive
atmosphere during the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The attendees of the meeting voiced hope that a dialogue between the
representatives of intelligentsia would continue in the future and
would cover wider public circles.
–Boundary_(ID_prsIt6MNXxFIREf0XuKopw)–
DAVTYAN WON SILVER MEDAL
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[03:41 pm] 25 June, 2007
The Armenian judoist Hovhannes Davtyan (60 kg) took the second place
in the International Judo Tournament held in Tehran. He became the
vice-champion of Europe.
The sportsmen of 24 countries participated in the tournament, among
them Armenian judoists Mesrop Berberyan (66 kg), Karen Lazarian
(73 kg) and Hakob Arakelyan (90 kg).