Author: Emil Lazarian

VICTOR DALLAKYAN’S RUSE FAILED
Lragir.am
12 June 06
The meeting of the parliament kicked off June 12 lasted shorter than
the adjournments the parliamentary factions took before the voting.
The cause was Victor Dallakyan, the secretary of the Ardarutiun
Alliance, who had proposed setting up ad-hoc committees to study the
fraud reported during the elections in 2003 and the referendum in
2005. Dallakyan explains this by the necessity to punish falsifiers
to go on to conduct a fair election. The secretary of the alliance
suggests putting the issue to vote to include it in the agenda of
the four-day meeting.
The parliamentary majority naturally disagreed with Victor Dallakyan’s
initiative. Speaker Tigran Torosyan said it is impossible to
discuss the questions in the spring session because it ends on June
14. Besides, the speaker of the National Assembly thinks the ad-hoc
committee of the proposal will not have time to work.
“Yes, we must conduct the parliamentary election in 2007 and all the
future elections in compliance with the international standards,
first of all, for the sake of our country, second, to fulfill
the obligations taken up before the international organizations,”
announce Speaker Torosyan, confessing that the elections in 2003 and
the referendum in 2005 were marred by irregularities and fraud.
Tigran Torosyan proposed to make joint efforts to improve the Electoral
Code to reach fair and free elections instead of politicizing the
question of the ad-hoc committee.
In reply Victor reminded that it is three years since the opposition
proposed studying the question of fraud, and this proposal regularly
crashes into the wall of the majority. Victor Dallakyan naturally
insisted that the issue be included in the agenda. However,
realizing that his initiative will be rejected, Victor Dallakyan
resorted to a ruse immediately before the voting. First he asked for
a 20-minute adjournment, provided for by the bylaws, afterwards he
proposed postponing the voting for 30 days. For a moment the “callow”
parliamentary majority could not realize what happened, and rejected
Victor Dallakyan’s proposal by voting. Afterwards the member of
parliament announced that if the majority rejected his proposal to
set up an ad-hoc committee, the initiative is automatically included
in the agenda. Victor Dallakyan says he proceeds from the bylaws
and a precedent reported during the work of the parliament. Deputy
Speaker Vahan Hovanisyan and Speaker Tigran Torosyan said there is
not such a point in the bylaws and such a precedent, which was to
be refused, of course. Dallakyan announced that it is already on the
agenda because the proposal to postpone was rejected. At that moment
Gurgen Arsenyan interfered, saying that the problem was disputable
and it is necessary to adjourn the session before the voting and
discuss the situation to avoid trouble.
During this adjournment all the leaders of the parliamentary factions
except Artashes Geghamyan discussed the question and decided that
it was a misunderstanding. Vahan Hovanisyan misunderstood Victor
Dallakyan. Hovanisyan announced that he thought Dallakyan proposed
postponing the voting to the bill and set forward this proposal,
which was rejected. Hovanisyan apologized, saying that he was guided by
logic, whereas the bylaws are not always logical. After reporting this
break-up of the bylaws of the parliament and logic Victor Dallakyan’s
rejected Victor Dallakyan’s initiative and went on to discuss the
agenda, when only an hour remained before the end of the working day.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TODAY AGENDA OF ARMENIA-CE RELATIONS INCLUDES FIRST OF ALL ISSUES OF REFORMING OF LEGISLATION, VARTAN OSKANIAN SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 09 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. “At the meetings with the Armenian
leadership we came to the conclusion about the necessity to prepare a
text of amendments to the current Electoral Code, ” Ambassador Roland
Wegener, Head of the Ago Group of the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers, declared on June 10 at the joint press conference with RA
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. He mentioned that the Council of
Europe is ready to assist Armenia in this issue.
According to the Ambassador, the amendments to the Electoral Code will
become a basis for holding free and fair elections. At the same time,
as R.Wegener estimated, providing pluralism in the country and first of
all in mass media, active participation of different parties, including
opposition ones, in the issue of the forthcoming legislative amendments
play a considerable role in holding democratic elections. “Holding
of free and fair elections supposes not only the responsibility of
the authorities, but also the responsibility of the National Assembly
and the political parties,” Roland Wegener declared. The Head of the
Ago Group emphasized that after the adoption of the amendments to the
Armenian Constitution it is necessary that the Armenian legislation
be brought in correspondence with the amendments. In this issue
Armenia has assumed a commitment towards CE to adopt a number of
new laws during the coming two years and to make amendments to such
laws as the law “On Alternative Service,” “On Radio and Television,”
“Civil Code,” preparation of bills “On Yerevan,” “On RA Ombudsperson,”
etc. Preparation for the forthcoming parliamentary elections to be held
in 2007 is also included in this process. Vartan Oskanian emphasized
that the agenda of relations between Armenia and the Council of
Europe is very large and includes first of all issues of reforming
the legislation. According to him, Armenia has already fulfilled the
most part of its commitments assumed towards CE, but there is still
much to do.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROLAND WEGENER ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC ABOUT REFORMED LAWS AND TO THEIR USE IN PRACTICE
Noyan Tapan
Jun 12 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The Constitutional reforms had
a positive impact in the issue of fulfilment of all Armenia’s
commitments towards the Council of Europe. This was mentioned
at the June 10 meeting of RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
with Ago Group on Monitoring of Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers. They exchanged thoughts over issues of strengthening of
democratic institutions and full freedom of press. Ambassador Roland
Wegener, head of the delegation, Resident Representative of Germany
to CE, attached importance to bringing the Electoral Code and the
legislative field in correspondence with the amended Constitution. In
this respect he attached importance to providing public’s awareness
about the reformed laws and to their use in practice. Minister Oskanian
in general outline presented the ambassadors the current process of
Nagorno Karabakh settlement, its developments and prospects. As Noyan
Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information
Department, Ambassadors of France, Switzerland, Sweden and Romania
to CE were also included in the delegation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ALL PRECONDITIONS FOR ARMENIA-SWITZERLAND ECONOMIC COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT AVAILABLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2006 14:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian-Swiss relations are developing
dynamically in all directions, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian stated at a joint press conference with Head of the Swiss
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Micheline Calmy-Rey. In his
words, presently steps for the settlement of some issues in the
economic sector are being taken.
“At the moment a business forum with the participation of the Armenian
delegation led by the Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen
Chshmarityan is being held in Zurich. I am hopeful that Switzerland’s
engagement in the Armenian economic life will deepen,” the RA FM
remarked.
For her part, Micheline Calmy-Rey underscored that all the
preconditions for the development of bilateral economic cooperation
are available. “The legislative field is being reformed, bilateral
agreements are concluded. All this is called to encourage the dynamic
development of relations between the two states,” she said.

HOLLAND MOVES TO BAN HOLOCAUST DENIAL
By Hilary Leila Krieger
Jerusalem Post
June 11 2006
When a Dutch family comes back to Holland after eight years of living
in Israel, people tend to assume its members are Jewish.
So says Leon Meijer, and he should know. Meijer, who completed his
doctorate at the Technion, learned that lesson the hard way when his
11-year-old daughter was told by a classmate soon after her return:
“It’s a pity Hitler didn’t finish the job.”
Meijer was shocked not only by the comment, but by the discovery that
the Netherlands has no laws clearly outlawing Holocaust denial.
Now, six years later, he has drafted legislation which would do just
that. Under his proposal, individuals who deny or glorify genocide
with the intent to hurt others could be fined or sentenced to up
to a year in jail. The law would be added to current legislation
prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of race and religion.
Meijer, who serves as an adviser to the Christian Union party,
which is sponsoring the legislation, described the measure as more
urgent now that “echoes” of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad’s
denials of the Holocaust could be heard in Holland. “People copy these
kinds of remarks,” he said, also noting that the number of Holocaust
survivors who can personally testify to what happened during World
War II is dwindling.
Though the Christian Union holds only three seats in the 150-member
parliament, Meijer said that his bill enjoys a good deal of support.
Even so, it would take at least six to nine months to approve.
He noted that possible pitfalls include fears that the law would limit
free speech, which is one reason he offered to explain why Holland –
unlike its neighbors – hasn’t banned Holocaust denial outright.
France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovakia,
Czech Republic, Lithuania and Poland all have made Holocaust denial
illegal, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Dutch Jewish community leader Ronny Naftaniel said the proposed
law could also encounter political obstacles. Since the law isn’t
limited to the Holocaust but includes all genocide as defined by the
International Criminal Court, objections could arise based on other
conflicts, such as the current crisis in Darfur or the past experience
of Armenians in Turkey.
“I can imagine that there will be political difficulties, but maybe
it will get through,” said Naftaniel, director of the Center for
Information and Documentation on Israel.
Even so, he praised the initiative as “a step forward.” He noted that
there has been prosecution of Holocaust denial under the existing
Dutch anti-discrimination laws on the basis that negation of the
Holocausts insults survivors and their children. But he said that
any move to codify the offense was welcome.
“There are fewer and fewer survivors and even their children are not
numerous anymore, and we think it’s important to keep the symbol of
the Holocaust complete and without debate. It should not be dependent
on the survivors and their children,” he said.
The general climate toward Jews worsened starting in 2000, with an
increase in instances of spitting, name-calling and other forms of
abuse, according to Naftaniel. But he said that the attacks – none
of which were violent – had levelled off in the last few years.
Still, ADL associate national director Kenneth Jacobson said “any
kind of effort for a Holocaust denial law is a way of dealing with
the trend that’s developing and to stop it in its tracks.”
He noted, however, that “all the polls indicate the vast majority of
Europeans” are aware that the Holocaust happened.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHEN WILL “CALVES” GET UP?
Panorama.am
15:22 10/06/06
Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, former head of national security state department
is ready to cooperate with all forces that are against Robert Kocharian
and his administration.
Yeghiazaryan said he may cooperate even with the Republicans if they
act against Kocharyan. The only person that Yeghiazaryan will never
cooperate with is defense minister Serze Sargsyan “because the two
are the same person,” he said.
G. Yeghiazaryan said that Armenia is an amazing country. It is only
here that gold is not profitable.
It is only here that the whole energy system is given to another
country and it is only here that the authorities steal the work of
our nationals working abroad by artificially devaluating dollar. “We
listen and stand all this like calves,” he said hoping that “the calf
will get up one day.”

INFANT MORTALITY IN ARMENIA REDUCED WITH 44 PERCENT
ArmRadio.am
12.06.2006 11:40
According to UNICEF data, infant mortality in Armenia decreased
with 44 percent. Among former USSR countries, only Estonia is ahead,
registering 50 percent reduction.
Head of Mother and Child Care Department of RA Ministry of Health
Karine Saribekyan noted for comparison that the indicator reduced
with five percent in Georgia and 11 percent in Azerbaijan. In some
countries infant mortality has even increased.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REPORT ON THE MISSING IN SOUTH CAUCASUS TO BE PRESENTED AT PACE WINTER SESSION
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.06.2006 15:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The PACE Report on the Missing in the South Caucasus
Countries is expected to be discussed at the Assembly’s Winter
Session, reporter PACE Rapporteur, Dutch MP Leo Platvoet stated in
Baku, when summing up his visit to Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
June 4-9. Speaking of the situation with those missing owing to the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Platvoet spoke in favor of forming a special
structure with participation of representatives of respective state
bodies of Azerbaijan and Armenia. “Similar structures for search of
the mission were available in the Balkans. Their activities should
be based on the principles of the International Committee of the Red
Cross. The human dimension report will reflect the issue of those
missing in the countries of the region, as politicization of the
issue is extremely dangerous,” Leo Platvoet noted, reports Turan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA TO PARDON PRISON CONVICTS ON THE OCCASION OF INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY
Armenpress
Jun 12 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, ARMENPRESS: A task force of justice ministry
officials set up at president Kocharian’s order to prepare an amnesty
that will be announced later this year in connection with the 15-th
anniversary of Armenia from the former Soviet Union, had a recurrent
meeting today chaired by minister David Harutunian.
The ministry said the meeting discussed the basic approaches towards
declaring amnesty for some categories of prison population. The task
force agreed to grant amnesty to those only who committed crimes
before June 1, 2006.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WASTES CONTAMINATE THE SOIL IN SYUNIK
A1+
[01:10 pm] 12 June, 2006
The wastes of “Dine Gold Mining Company” turn the village of
Syunik into a desert and a swamp, but the workers of the ecological
administration of the marz do not take any measures to prevent the
ecological disaster.
Levon Petrosyan, the head of the ecological administration of Syunik
marz, either refrains from speaking about the problem or claims there
is no danger. He does not even try to find an explanation why the
trees dry up in the village.
The Hygienic and anti-epidemic inspection of the marz is engaged in
the problem. The results of laboratory investigations will be ready
in three days.
TV Company “Sosi”, Kapan
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress