Author: Emil Lazarian

AIRBUS EXPERTS HOPEFUL OF RECOVERING PLANE WRECK FROM BLACK SEA

RIA Novosti, Russia
May 4 2006

MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) – Airbus specialists plan to recover the
flight recorders and all parts of an Airbus plane that crashed in the
Black Sea Wednesday killing 113 people, the Russian transportation
minister said Thursday.

An Airbus A-320 belonging to Armenia’s Armavia Airlines flying from
the country’s capital, Yerevan, crashed about six kilometers from
the Russian coast en route to an airport in Adler, which services
the resort of Sochi. All 113 passengers and crew were killed.

Igor Levitin, speaking in an interview with government daily
Rossiyskaya Gazeta to be published Friday, said: “They do not intend
to limit their activity to searching for black boxes, but also to
recover all parts of the plane by themselves, as it is important
for the manufacturer to establish whether the crash was linked with
plane’s technical state.”

The European company equips its A-320 model with special radio beacons
emitting signals at a certain frequency and at set intervals.

Levitin said a provisional analysis of the crew’s communications with
ground control suggested that bad weather was the most likely cause of
the crash, adding that further analysis by Russian technical experts
should provide a clearer picture of events.

Igor Levitin said earlier that parts of the plane had been found at a
depth of 680 meters (2,230 feet). An emergencies ministry official said
Airbus specialists working at the site had detected a radio signal,
possibly from the plane’s flight recorders. Two ministry teams are
also working at the site, searching for signals.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SAFAROV HAS SUBMITTED NO APPEAL COMPLAINT YET

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. As of May 3, Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov who killed officer of RA Armed Forces Gurgen
Margarian with an axe had not submitted an appeal complaint against
the April 13 verdict of Budapest court. Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed about it by Armenian lawyer Nazeli Vardanian representing the
interests of the aggrieved party. To recap, according to the verdict,
Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment without the right of pardon
during the first 30 years. Safarov had declared at the court that
he is going to appeal against the verdict. The Hungarian legislation
envisages a term of 15 days after receiving the text of the verdict
for submitting a complaint. The Armenian party, for instance, has not
received the verdict yet. According to Nazeli Vardanian’s information,
the court sitting on the second case instituted against Safarov,
on application of violence towards chief warders, also took place
yesterday. According to the witnesses, Safarov was very dispirited. 2
of 11 witnesses were interrogated at the sitting, the court sitting
was postponed, the day of the next sitting will be announced later.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES OVER 22 THOUSAND USD FOR HOLDING CONTEST OF CELLISTS AFTER ARAM KHACHATRIAN

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the Government’s
May 4 sitting, 10 mln drams (over 22 thousand USD) was allocated
to RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs for holding the contest
of cellists after Aram Khachatrian from May 30 to June 6, 2006. As
Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Government Information and Public
Relations Department, under another decision, the Hayfilm Film Studio
after Hamo Beknazarian State Non-commercial organization was renamed
Armenian National Cinema Center State Non-commercial organization.

In this connection, under the same decision, amendments and additions
were made in RA Government’s April 17 2002 decision N 417 “On Founding
a State Non-commercial Organization”.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES OVER 160 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR PREPARATION AND HOLDING OF THIRD ARMENIA-DIASPORA FORUM

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the May 4 sitting,
the Armenian government made a decision to allocate 72 mln 862.5
thousand drams (about 162 thousand USD) from its 2006 reserve fund
for the purpose of preparing and holding the third Armenia-Diaspora
forum in Yerevan in September 2006. NT was informed about it from
the RA Government Information and PR Department.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KARABAKH OFFICIAL DENIES AZERI REPORT ON POWS

Mediamax news agency
4 May 06

Yerevan, 4 May: The chairman of the state commission for prisoners
of war and missing persons of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, Viktor
Kocharyan, has flatly denied the report of the Azerbaijani state
commission for prisoners of war, hostages and missing people saying
that “4,600 Azerbaijani citizens are held captive in Armenia”.

Speaking to the Mediamax news agency, Kocharyan said that “such
groundless statements are part of propaganda and policies of the
Azerbaijan authorities aimed at discrediting Armenia and Nagornyy
Karabakh”. He said that there were no prisoners of war or hostages
in Nagornyy Karabakh and that representatives of international
organizations operating in Nagornyy Karabakh could also confirm this.

Kocharyan said that all issues related to prisoners of war in Nagornyy
Karabakh were within the remit of the state commission and ruled out
any chance of POWs being held in military units or private homes. He
said that the republic’s authorities had ensured free access to places
of detention for international organizations to carry out monitoring.

“Nagornyy Karabakh has unilaterally joined the Geneva Conventions,
in accordance with which prisoners of war are immediately handed over
to Azerbaijan with the assistance of the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC),” Kocharyan said. He pointed out that the ICRC
highly rated the openness of the Karabakh commission and effective
cooperation with this international organization.

Kocharyan said with regret that Azerbaijan had refused to cooperate
with Nagornyy Karabakh in the search for missing persons and release
of prisoners of war. He said that unlike Nagornyy Karabakh, the
Azerbaijani authorities did not allow international organizations
to enter places of detention, did not inform them on time about the
existence of prisoners of war from Nagornyy Karabakh, and in violation
of international law, delayed the release of prisoners of war by all
means. Kocharyan said that the released prisoners were handed over
to Armenia but not to Nagornyy Karabakh.

“The lack of contacts between the state commissions of Nagornyy
Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as well as the lack of constructive approach
on the part of Azerbaijan, make the resolution of such an important
humanitarian problem extremely difficult,” Kocharyan said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SAYS MOSCOW THREATENS NEW DEMOCRACIES IN EASTERN EUROPE
Karl Ritter

AP Worldstream
May 04, 2006

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday accused Russia of
trying to undermine national sovereignty and economic growth in the
fledgling democracies emerging from the former Soviet empire.

Saakashvili warned that democratic advances in Georgia, Ukraine and
the Baltic countries since the collapse of communism were under threat
from Moscow, which he said suffered from “imperial nostalgia.”

“Freedom is under threat,” Saakashvili told a forum of Baltic and
Black Sea leaders in the Lithuanian capital. “Political forces in
Moscow actively work to undermine our economies, our sovereignty,
and even our system of governance.”

Georgia, is heavily reliant on imports of cheap Russian natural gas,
and Saakashivili accused Russia of using “new tools such as energy
dependence, state censorship and the power of national monopolies”
to bully its neighbors.

“We still have imperial nostalgia around us,” Saakashivili said,
also noting a recent Russian ban on imports of Georgian wine.

Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have cooled markedly since
Saakashvili swept to power more than two years ago during Georgia’s
Rose Revolution.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused Russia
of restricting the rights of its citizens, and said “no legitimate
interest is served” by turning energy resources into implements
of blackmail.

The presidents of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Moldova also attended the summit, sharing their
experiences in democracy-building after the Soviet collapse.

The countries are in different stages of integration with the West
through membership in NATO and the European Union. The Baltic countries
and Poland are both NATO and EU members, while Ukraine and Georgia
are still looking for membership in both.

Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga said NATO hopefuls should
not expect “any concrete invitations for accession” when her country
hosts an alliance summit in November.

Ministers from Azerbaijan and Armenia also attended the summit, and
used the occasion to accuse each other of aggression in the disputed
enclave of Nagorno-Karabach.

Nevertheless, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana proclaimed:
“Here we can see the elements of a possible breakthrough.”

The countries accuse each other of frequently violating the shaky
1994 cease-fire that ended fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian
forces over the enclave.

Solana said the EU was committed to “underpin an agreement” in
Nagorno-Karabach and other so-called “frozen conflicts” in the Black
Sea region, including Trans-Dniester, which broke away from Moldova
in 1992.

Delegates also expressed hope that the spread of freedom in the region
would reach Belarus, which Cheney called “Europe’s last dictatorship,”
and condemned the arrest of Bealrusian opposition leader Alexander
Milinkevich.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SPECIAL BANK ACCOUNTS

AZG Armenian Daily
05/05/2006

Upon request of foreign organizations and individuals, special bank
accounts are opened to support the families of the perished aboard
the flight Yerevan-Flight.

Inecobank (AMD) – 20 500 22 17 060 1003

Armsavingsbank (ruble) – 160 48 200 54 53

Armeconombank (USD) – 16 300 81 23 743

Armeconombank (euro) – 16 300 81 23 750

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARTSAKH IS MIGHTY WITH ITS FRIENDS
By Kim Gabrielian in Stepanakert

AZG Armenian Daily
05/05/2006

A considerable number of schools in Artsakh were built or repaired
on charity money in the recent years.

The new school building of Shekher village in Martuni region was built
on donations of Karpis Nikoghosian, French-Armenian benefactor and
chairman of the French Association for Artsakhi Relief, in 2002. These
days Karpis Nikoghosian was again in Shekher, villagers of which
consider him their countryman who lives in France. During each visit
the benefactor has a present with him. This time was no exception.

Mr. Nikoghosian arrived in Shekher accompanied by the city
construction minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the head of
“Capital Construction” State Non-Commercial Organization. This time
Mr. Nikoghosian plans to build a gym for the school that will be 24
meters by 12 with an overall cost of $140 thousand.

The building expenses will be covered from donations of the
French-Armenian community. Construction works will kick off in
early summer.

The gym will not simply serve as a ground for physical culture classes
but will also serve the groups of amateur performances. In the Soviet
times theatrical groups of Shekher were famous not only in Martuni
region but also in other places of Nagorno Karabakh.

Besides helping Shekher in school construction, each year the
Nikoghosian family provides money for 3 students from the village to
pay tuition fees.

Residents of Shekher say: “Shekher has a prosperous future as it has
such a friend as Karpis Nikoghosian.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE SHAHUMYAN RESIDENTS WERE DISPLACED 15 YEARS AGO

A1+
[06:10 pm] 04 May, 2006

A large-scale military operation “Koltso” was implemented in April –
June, 1991, with the joint efforts of the USSR Interior Ministry and
special-purpose groups of the Azeri Interior Ministry in order to
evict Armenians from the Armenian villages Gatashen and Martunashen,
the region Shahumyan and Karabakh. At the same time, Armenia and
Nagorno – Karabakh appeared in economic blockade by Baku.

According to the NKR Foreign Ministry data, the increase of the
tension was determined by the above-mentioned “Koltso” operation as a
result of which the Karabakh conflict was taken to a new – military
level. According to the OSCE review, “the situation became more or
less tense from April to June, 1991, when the Soviet army displaced
Armenians from many rural areas of the region with the assistance of
the Azeri Interior Ministry. This act was realized very severely.”

“Unfortunately, neither the operative nor the military crimes carried
out within that period found their political and legal evaluation,
and this resulted in new vandalism from the Azeri side – ethnic
groups’ evictions.”

“The tragedy of Getashen, Martunashen and Shahumyan still continues
as the displaced Armenians haven’t got a right to return and they
haven’t been compensated.

These villages are left out in the reviews of international mediators
and in projects of the Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement,” this
is a quotation from the NKR Foreign Ministry statement.

By the way, there are many documents which testify to the fact that the
Azeri authorities find that the Karabakh conflict settlement is closely
connected with the residents’ displacement or their annihilation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TRAINING COURSES FOR ARMENIAN PROSECUTORS

A1+
[06:19 pm] 04 May, 2006

YEREVAN, 4 May 2006 – Preventing and prosecuting sexual crimes was the
focus of a training course for Armenian prosecutors and investigators
that ended today in Yerevan.

The two-day event was organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the
Warsaw-based OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR), and the Training Centre of the General Prosecutor’s Office.

ODIHR has been helping Armenian prosecutors since November 2004,
with funding from the United States.

“Emphasis should be placed on appropriate treatment of victims of
all types of crimes, including sexual violence,” said Cynthia Alkon,
Head of ODIHR’s Rule of Law programme.

Tatul Badasyan, Deputy Director of the Prosecutors’ Training Centre,
praised the close co-operation with the OSCE, adding that it was
important to share the best practices in the field, including
investigative techniques and prosecution of cases of sexual violence.

Around 25 participants and two experts from Austria and the United
States discussed various case studies, international legal provisions,
and the psychology of investigations , as well as issues connected
with domestic violence, child abuse and human trafficking.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress