Author: Emil Lazarian

BSECO SECRETARY GENERAL ARRIVING IN ARMENIA JUNE 6
Author: À.Mammadov
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 6 2006
(PanARMENIAN.Net) – The plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization will be held in
Yerevan June 6-8. Secretary General of the BSECO Standing International
Secretariat Leonidas Chrisanthopoulos is expected to participate
in the event. Within the visit framework he will meet with Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and National Assembly Speaker Tigran
Torosian, reported the RA MFA press office.
–Boundary_(ID_35A9X6rqjaFGMTHJYk9mtw)–

CHESS GENIUS CHECKED RIVAL WHO MOVED AGAINST HIS “QUEEN”
by Jennifer Sym and Ayshea Buksh, PA
Press Association Newsfile
June 6, 2006 Tuesday 3:10 PM BST
A British chess grandmaster may face action from the game’s ruling
body for making a jealous move against a top player for dancing with
a stunning Australian contestant, the team captain said today.
In a surprise manoeuvre in the seemingly-sedate world of chess,
Danny Gormally’s behaviour towards Levon Aronian at the World Chess
Olympiad in Turin seems to have been sparked by the Armenian star’s
jiving with Arianne Caoili.
The Briton was said to have previously met and been emailing Caoili,
the 19-year-old Australian number three, but his dancefloor antics
at the tournament’s Bermuda Party led to retaliation from Aronian’s
teammates.
The World Cup winner’s supporters hit Gormally when he popped out
for a coffee the following day before they knew an apology had been
proffered, English team captain Allan Beardsworth confirmed.
Gormally, 30, from Durham, is ranked sixth in Britain, and subsequently
left the Olympiad early of his own volition.
Mr Beardsworth said: “The bottom line is this is just a little incident
in a nightclub where unfortunately Danny probably had a drink too
many and obviously saw someone dancing with a girl he liked and either
hit or tried to hit them.
“The guy he tried to hit was the world number three.”
The British player, he said, was “gutted” when he awoke the following
morning to realise what he’d done: “He knows he shouldn’t have done
it and knows he wouldn’t have done it normally.
“Danny is a nice, normal guy. When he woke up and realised he’d done
something really stupid, he knew he had to leave. We didn’t get into
any debate about what we wanted to do. He said `I must leave’. He
was so upset and I then arranged it all.”
Mr Beardsworth subsequently apologised to the Armenian delegation
and their star player the morning after the incident at the Hiroshima
Mon Amour nightclub.
“I found the head of the delegation and the translator and had a good
chat. He was fine with it, he rang Aronian up and he was glad I had
been in touch.
“We apologised then and the next day when I saw Levon we shook hands
and he was great. He realised it was just a drinking incident,”
he said.
However, while the apologies were being accepted, Aronian’s teammates
spotted Danny and “unfortunately gave him a punch or two”, said
Mr Beardsworth.
But he added: “Once they knew I had already apologised they came to
find me to apologise back to me. It was all very friendly.”
The English team subsequently came 19th in the biennial tournament,
up from 2004’s 30th place. The Armenian team won the Olympiad.
A captain’s report would be sent to the the English Chess Federation,
he said, and he would be “surprised if the ECF didn’t do something”.
“I think something has to be done. In two years’ time and four years’
time, people will remember this happened …. but what’s needed,
who knows?”
Mr Gormally – described by the team as “England’s newest Grandmaster”
and a “welcome addition to the Olympiad team” – declined to be
interviewed when contacted by the Press Association.
A spokesman for the Chess Federation in the former Soviet republic
said: “The Armenian Chess Federation does not want to give any details
on the subject. You must refer all inquiries to the British Chess
Federation. Goodbye.”
Denis Jessop, president of the Australian Chess Federation, said: “If
the Australian Chess Federation were to receive an adverse report about
the incident, the ACF Council would consider it but I do not see it
likely that any action would be taken in the absence of such a report.”
A spokesperson for the World Chess Federation (FIDE) said: “FIDE has
not received any official report of such an incident. Therefore we
cannot comment on this matter.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A-320 FLIGHT RECORDERS TO BE DECIPHERED IN 1.5-2 MONTHS
by Yekaterina Kalinina
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 6, 2006 Tuesday 01:14 PM EST
It will take 1.5-2 months to decipher information from flight recorders
of the Armavia A-320 jet that crashed near Sochi on May 3 and killed
113 people onboard, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said in
St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
“The two-month deadline we have suggested is quite realistic. The
deciphering of the flight recorders keeps to the schedule,” he said.
Conversations between the Armenian crewmembers are being translated.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EFFORTS TO CONCILIATE STANDS TAKEN AT AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN SUMMIT
by Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 6, 2006 Tuesday
Efforts to conciliate Karabakh settlement positions were taken at the
Bucharest negotiations between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
Armenian President Robert Kocharian on June 4-5, Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov told the press in Baku on Tuesday.
“It is hard to say how much the efforts have succeeded,” he said.
The presidents held most of their negotiations without intermediaries,
the minister said. “This is a positive process, which will eventually
bring results,” he said. A Karabakh economic development program may
be a possible solution, and the Azerbaijani government can set up a
special fund for that purpose, the minister said. However, the plan
can be fulfilled if members of the Azerbaijani community come back
to Karabakh, he said.
Mamedyarov hinted that a Karabakh referendum is not on the agenda.
Judging by his cautious statements, the Karabakh status has not been
coordinated either.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MAMMADYAROV: REPLACEMENT OF MANN NOT TO HAVE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON KARABAKH PROCESS
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.06.2006 16:41 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azeri FM Elmar Mammadyarov is sure that replacement
of US co-chair of the OSCE MG Steven Mann will not have a negative
impact on the process of the Nagorno Karabakh settlement. In his words,
this is owing to professionalism of US diplomats. “The important
thing is that Americans remain in the settlement process and want
to continue it,” the Azeri FM said. One to two months are enough for
bringing the new co-chair up to date, Mammadyarov said.
We remind that the previous OSCE MG co-chair Steven Mann is appointed
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA IS IN THE WATCH LIST
A1+
[05:08 pm] 06 June, 2006
Armenia is a major source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and
destination country for women and girls trafficked for sexual
exploitation largely to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and
Turkey. Traffickers, many of them women, route victims directly into
Dubai or through Moscow. Traffickers also route victims to Turkey
through Georgia via bus. Profits derived from the trafficking of
Armenian victims reportedly increased dramatically from the previous
year.
The Government of Armenia does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so. Armenia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List
for a second consecutive year because of its failure to show evidence
of increasing efforts over the past year, particularly in the areas
of enforcement, trafficking-related corruption, and victim protection.
While the government increased implementation of its anti-trafficking
law, it failed to impose significant penalties for convicted
traffickers. The government failed to vigorously investigate and
prosecute ongoing and widespread allegations of public officials’
complicity in trafficking. Victim protection efforts remained in
early, formative stages. Victim-blaming and lack of sensitivity for
victims remain a problem among Armenian officials, particularly in
the judiciary.
In 2005, the Government of Armenia increased the use of the 2003
anti-trafficking statute under Article 132, which prohibits trafficking
in persons for forced labor and sexual exploitation. However,
many courts overturned convictions handed down under Article 132,
and reduced sentences by converting the charges into lesser pimping
charges. The government continued to apply other criminal codes to
about half of its trafficking cases in 2005. During the reporting
period, the government investigated 30 trafficking cases, resulting
in 14 prosecutions and 17 convictions. While Article 132 provides
for longer sentences, penalties actually imposed continue to be
insufficient and not commensurate with those for other equally grave
crimes in Armenia. During the reporting period, only a few convictions
resulted in actual imprisonment; the remaining offenders received
suspended sentences, corrective labor and fines. Lack of public
confidence and allegations of official complicity continued to hurt
the credibility of the government’s anti-trafficking efforts.
By the way, all these facts were surveyed and published by the US
State Department.

CHLORINE KILLED THE FISHES OF THE RIVER
A1+
[07:39 pm] 06 June, 2006
The fishes (mainly barbells and khramulyas) of the Vachagan River
flowing through Kapan were killed yesterday. Today the reason is
already known.
The point is that the Kapan broad of “Armwatersewerage” LTD implemented
the purification of the reservoir which is located in the district
Shinararner. Chlorine was used for that purpose for the first time
and the workers were unaware of the required quantity of chlorine
they were to use. While they were purifying the reservoir it became
known that there was flowing from the reservoir to the River Vachagan
as a result of which many fishes were killed.
The sum of the harm is not known yet. An action is not brought either.
TV Company “Sosi” of Kapan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YEREVAN-BATUMI RAILWAY TO OPEN ON JUNE 15
Armenpress
June 06 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS: Very soon Armenian holiday-makers wishing
to spend a week or two in Georgia’s Black Sea resorts will be able
to travel to Batumi, the capital of the autonomous Ajaria region,
by train.
Armenian transport and communication ministry said comfortable
trains with double and four-passenger compartments will be running
between Yerevan and Batumi from June 15 to September 15. The railway
connection between Armenia and Georgia’s Batumi is expected to give a
very strong boost to development of Georgia’s tourist industry. The
train from Yerevan will make stops in Gyumri, Vanadzor and Sanahin
stations before crossing the brooder with Georgia.
Ticket prices will be very affordable, 18, 000 drams for a double
compartment and 9,300 drams for four-passenger compartment. Last
year around 20,000 Armenians spent their summer vacations in Ajaria,
traveling largely by vans and buses.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INCREASE IN WATER TARIFF WILL RAISE DEMAND FOR WINE
Panorama.am
14:42 06/06/06
At present each citizen consumes 1 liter of wine in average in
the Republic, NA deputy Manuk Gasparyan stated at a discussion
today. Manvel Ghazaryan, the head of Vedi Alco Co., said that in
Europe this statistics reaches 40-50 liters per one person.
Armenians have a tradition of drinking wine. However, the present
figures do not speak about that. In fact, our consumption is very
low. M. Ghazaryan thinks that the decline of wine consumption is
connected with Soviet era when Armenians shifted from aristocratic
wine to less respected vodka. “Almost all parties have first of all
vodka and then brandy on the table,” he said. He thinks that wine
should be promoted on state level. Ghazaryan hoped that after some
years the situation with wine consumption will improve both at home
and abroad. “Soon the water tariffs will rise and everybody will
drink wine,” he joked.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RPA MEMBER TO APPEAL AGAINST DISTRICT ELECTORAL COMMISSION’S DECISION AT COURT
Noyan Tapan
June 06 2006
IJEVAN, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN. According to preliminary data, as a
result of the elections held on May 28 in the community of Debedavan,
Tavush region, current village head, RPA member Salavat Babayan had
received 190 votes and his rival, non-partisan Vanya Damirchian 188
votes. The latter applied to district electoral commission N 40 with
a demand to recalculate the ballot-papers.
The commission recognized invalid 4 ballot-papers for Salavat
Babayan. As a result, the commission registered 186 ballot-papers for
Salavat Babayan and the number of ballot-papers for Vanya Damirchian
remained unchanged, 188. Salavat Babayan applied to first instance
court of Tavush region demanding that the decision of district
electoral commission N 40 about recognizing the ballot-papers invalid
be invalidated. As Chairman of Tavush first instance court Samvel
Mardanian is a member of the same commission, the court sitting on
this case will be presided by judge of the same court Zoya Zakinian
(residence town of Berd). The latter informed Noyan Tapan correspondent
that the court sitting, probably, will take place on June 7.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress