Author: Emil Lazarian

F.KULOV EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO ARMENIAN PM OVER JET CRASH

Kyrgyzstan Development Gateway, Kyrgyzstan
May 3 2006

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Felix Kulov has sent a letter of
condolences to Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Margariyan over jet
crash near the town of Adler, which killed all passengers and the crew
of A-320 of the Armenian Airline, belonging to the air company Armavia.

In the message, F.Kulov expressed deep condolences on behalf of the
government of Kyrgyzstan and personally from him.

An A-320 passenger plane of Armenia Airlines on a flight from Yerevan
to Sochi crashed while doing a circle before landing at the Adler
Airport. There were 113 people on board the airliner.

ARMAVIA AIR COMPANY SETS UP COMMISSION FOR FINDING OUT CAUSES OF ITS AIRCRAFT CRASH NEAR SOCHI

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006

YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. Armavia Air Company is already set up a
commission for finding out causes of its aircraft crash near Sochi,
Russia. Armavia press service told ARKA News Agency that aircraft
A-320 with 913 on board plummeted into Black Sea Tuesday night while
en route from Yerevan to Sochi. It fell down when trying to land in
Adler airport.

Armavia’s official says the plane was denied landing because of bad
weather. The crew decided to land in Tbilisi, then they was told by
Adler airport flying control ground service that weather has already
improved. “The airplane headed to Sochi, but weather conditions there
remained bad. At the very moment of the second attempt to land,
the plane disappeared from radars screens”, the company’s press
service says.

Armavia spokesman said that the jet was in good technical condition.

Of 113 aboard 105 were passengers and 8 crew members. 6 children and
36 women were among the passengers.

Armenian Civil Aviation General Office set up a commission for
dealing with the accident. The commission made up of aviation and
flight security specialists has already flew to Sochi to take part
in the investigation launched by Russian side.

All the 113 on board are reportedly killed in the crash.

Sochi Prosecutor Office instigated a case into the accident on the
Russian Federation Penal Code count on violation of flight security
rules that resulted in human toll.

Armavia Air Company started functioning on December 12, 1996. Mikhail
Baghdasarov, MIKA Armenia Trading President, became the owner of 100%
shares of Armavia in June 2005.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR MUST NOT BE PART OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIAN PM STATES

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006

YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) must not
be part of Azerbaijan, RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated
in his interview put on the web-site of the RA Government.

According to him, the position of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement has not changed.

“In conformity with this position, Nagorno Karabakh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan. The security of the NKR population must be guaranteed,
Armenia and the NKR must have a common border, the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict must not be settled at the expense of Armenia’s borders,
and the NKR must act as negotiator in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
process,” Speaking of the latest meeting between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents in Rambouillet on February 10-11, Margaryan
pointed out that the talks did not fail.

“Just no agreement on a number of settlement principles were reached,”
he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY WARNS FRANCE NOT TO MAKE DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE A CRIMINAL ACT

Voice of America
May 3 2006

Turkey has warned France that ties between the two countries will
suffer what it called “irreparable damage” if French lawmakers
approve a measure making denial of the Armenian genocide 90 years
ago a criminal offense.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, told reporters in
Ankara his country’s views on the issue are being conveyed to French
officials. The proposed bill would provide fines and imprisonment for
denying that Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were victims of genocide
during World War One

If adopted, the bill would follow a 2001 French parliament decision
that the deaths of one and a half million Armenians amounted to
genocide.

That vote infuriated Turkey, which acknowledges the deaths of hundreds
of thousands of Armenians but insists that as many Turks also died
in civil strife and a Russian-backed Armenian uprising against
Ottoman rule.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH COURT REJECTS JOURNALIST’S APPEAL

Nanaimo Daily News (British Columbia, Canada)
May 3, 2006 Wednesday
Final Edition

ANKARA — A Turkish court rejected an appeal by an ethnic Armenian
journalist against a conviction that found him guilty of insulting
Turkish national identity, in a case watched closely by the European
Union.

Hrant Dink, editor of the weekly Agos newspaper, in October received
a six-month suspended sentence from an Istanbul court for articles he
wrote in 2004 about the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

The appeals court in Ankara upheld the substance of the ruling Tuesday.

“I am deeply saddened by the decision,” Dink said. “We were expecting
the court to say that the accusations were baseless.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MOSCOW POLICEMEN DECLARED A WAR ON “ETHNIC GANGS”
by Viktor Tkachyov

SOURCE: Noviye Izvestia, No 76, p.6
Russica Izvestia Information Inc.
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
May 3, 2006 Wednesday

Moscow police are preparing for a citywide crackdown on so-called
ethnic gangs after two policemen were shot dead by what prosecutors
described as members of a Georgian crime group.

Police will stake out known hangouts of ethnic gangs until the
killers of police officers Andrei Ashurkov and Sergei Rebrikov,
who were gunned down early Friday in southern Moscow, are found,
a police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity customary
when discussing police operations, said Tuesday. “Ethnic gangs” is
an umbrella term that generally refers to organized crime groups,
primarily from the Caucasus.

Ashurkov and Rebrikov responded to a call from residents of an
apartment building on Ulitsa Kirovogradskaya who said they heard cries
for help from the apartment of an Armenian businessman and his family,
police said.

Ashurkov and Rebrikov walked into a hail of automatic gunfire upon
entering the apartment at around 7:30 a.m., and both died at the
scene, City Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Sergei Marchenko said. Six
suspects wearing tracksuits and black leather jackets fled the scene,
he said. No suspects have been detained. Rebrikov, 39, is survived
by a wife and daughter. Ashurkov was 28.

Following a funeral for the two officers Tuesday, deputy police chief
Vladimir Chugunov said Moscow police were “fighting an uncompromising
battle and even a war against bandits.”

The Mayor’s Office emphasized the ethic background of the victims.

Spokesman Sergei Tsoi said the “ethnic Russian police officers, who
died heroically” and “acted professionally in defending an Armenian
family,” would be awarded state honors posthumously. Authorities
closely track and publicize statistical evaluations of crimes committed
by foreigners, primarily from other former Soviet republics. These
statistics are cited by some groups to justify anti-immigration
policies.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BOOK OF CONDOLENCES OPENED AT ARMENIA EMBASSY IN MOSCOW
By Tamara Frolkina

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 3, 2006 Wednesday

A book of condolences was opened at the Armenian Embassy in Moscow
over the air crash near Sochi.

“The book was opened on behalf of all Armenians living in Russia,”
President of the Armenians Union Ara Abramian told Itar-Tass on
Wednesday. “The Union of Russian Armenians is doing its best to help
the families of the crash victims,” Abramian emphasized.

“Relatives are accommodated at the Sochi hotel Moskva, the medical
and psychological aid and the food are provided for them,” he pointed
out. “They will stay in the hotel until all issues concerning the
air crash and its aftermath are settled,” Ara Abramian remarked.

“There are many Russians among those killed in the air crash, as a big
number of Armenians have dual citizenship. It is needed to wait for
the results of the expertise in order to find out what really happened,
as the airplane was said to be in the ideal state,” he indicated.

The A-320 airliner was carrying 113 people, including 26 Russian
citizens. According to the preliminary information, all people aboard
the plane were killed. Former interior minister and chairman of the
Armenian State Security Committee Maj-Gen. Usik Arutyunian is among
those killed. According to the latest reports, the bodies of 39 crash
victims, including one girl, were found.

COMMITTEE ON ARMENIA NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY PROJECT DEVELOPMENT HAD A SESSION IN YEREVAN

Source: Novosti-Armenia, April 28, 2006
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 3, 2006 Wednesday

The 4th session of Interagency committee on Armenia National Security
Strategy project development too place today in Yerevan. Armenia
Defense Department Press-secretary Colonel Seyran Shakhsuvaryan
stated that the session was conducted under the chairmanship of
Armenia President Serzh Sarkisyan. The members of the 4th session
chose from 250 offers and included in the agenda the ones concerning
the following topics: Armenia outer security strategy, All-Armenian
integration strategy. After exchanging opinions, amendments have been
made and the offers accepted. The Committee secretariat is responsible
for editing the new topics.

RA OMBUDSMAN EXPRESSES HIS DEEP CONDOLENCES TO RELATIVES OF VICTIMS OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 03 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA Ombudsman Armen
Haroutiunian sent a message of condolence on the occasion of
the accident of the Yerevan-Sochi plane. “I deeply grieve for the
accident of the Yerevan-Sochi plane. I present my deep condolences to
the relatives of the passengers and the plane crew that died in the
accident. I hope all possible means will be undertaken for alleviating
the grief of the relatives of the victims,” the message read.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NDI IMPLEMENTS PROGRAMS OF WOMEN’S INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICAL AND PUBLIC SPHERES

Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Women from more than 20 Armenian parties
have been already involved in the Actions Plan “Let’s Win Together With
Women” being implemented by the U.S. National Democratic Institute
(NDI). Lilit Ohanian, coordinator of NDI programs, informed about
it at the May 3 press conference. According to her, the Actions Plan
“Let’s Win Together With Women” is aimed at increasing the number of
women on the ruling posts and at encouraging their participation in
electoral processes. Lilit Ohanian informed that women members of
the Hanrapetutiun (Republic), Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law), ARF
Dashnaktsutiun, National Unity, Women of Armenia and other parties
have expressed willingness to take part in this process during the
recent months. A Woman-Leader forum has been also established on the
initiative of the NDI. The forum includes women representing NGOs,
political parties and the business sphere. According to Lilit Ohanian,
both the implementation of the plan and the processes relating to
the forum are continual.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress