Author: Emil Lazarian

AND WHY WAS BAGHDASAROV AWARDED?
A1+
[09:15 pm] 16 May, 2006
Today in the Russian Embassy to Armenia a number of Armenian
authorities were awarded with great military orders of the pan Russian
academy on security, defense and legal issues.
RA Attorney General Aghvan Hovsepyan was awarded the medal of the
first degree of Peter the Great. RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
will also be awarded with that medal but a bit later, as he wasn’t
present at today’s ceremony.
Colonel-General Michael Haroutyunyan, deputy minister of the RA Defense
and chief of the RA military main headquarters, was awarded with the
medal of the first degree of Alexandre Nevski, and Gurgen Dalibaltayan,
RA Military Attorney General and RA President’s councilor, was awarded
with the medal of “Great Victory.”
Michael Baghdasarov, president of the company “Mika Limited” was among
them and he was awarded with the medal of the second degree of Peter
the Great (it is difficult to say for which service exactly)
The official registration of the awards is as follows, for their
personal share and service in the establishment of RA and RF national
security and increase of fighting ability.
The ceremony was held at the head of the Russian ambassador to Armenia
Nikolay Pavlov who was also awarded with the medal of first degree
of Peter the Great.
By the way, Mher Shahgeldyan, chairman of RA Defense and National
security and Internal affairs standing committee was awarded the
medal of the first degree of Alexandre Nevski but the medal was not
given to him for certain reasons.
Nobody made a speech at the ceremony. They merely enjoyed drinks and
spoke of their personal affairs.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ALL ARMENIAN CONGRESS HOLDS A SESSION IN YEREVAN
Panorama.am
16:37 16/05/06
All Armenian Congress (AAC) opened its session today in Yerevan. The
session discussed AAC activities in the course of the last 2 years
and participants watched a film about the organization.
However, the participants think that only half of the information on
what the congress does was presented.
“I can assure you that you don’t know even 1 % of what we do. I did
not want to talk about the programs of the congress as it would take
much time,” the head of the Congress and chairman of the Union of
Armenians A. Abrahamyan told Panorama.am.
A. Abrahamyan mentioned that they have provided Armenian schools with
computers and the organizers intend to continue the project both in
Armenia and Diaspora. During the last 2 years, refugees were provided
with 130 flats. “It is very important since by providing refugees
with flats we connect them with Armenia,” Abrahamyan said. They also
engage in building schools in Nagorno Karabakh. The most important
among programs may be considered AAC’s initiative to apply to the
International Court on Human Rights with a request to consider the
Armenian Genocide.
Another important aspect Abrahamyan considered the development of
Armenia-Diaspora relation which, in his opinion, is not sufficiently
well developed.
In the words of NKR prime minister Anushavan Danielyan, a more
professional and organized attitude is needed to the problem
of Diaspora. “Up till now we have been dealing on amateur
level. Concurrently, if we ask Armenians what is our economic
and intellectual capital, most frequently we will hear the answer
“Diaspora,” Danielyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NK SETTLEMENT WITHIN OSCE IMPORTANT, KOCHARYAN STATES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 15 2006
YEREVAN, May 15. /ARKA/. At his meeting with OSCE Secretary General
Mark Peren Brichambaut , RA President Robert Kocharyan pointed out
the important fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is being settled
within the OSCE, which format is a rather efficient one.
The RA President made a high appraisal of the effectiveness, level
and prospects of the Armenia-OSCE cooperation.
The sides thoroughly discussed the processes going on in the OSCE
member-countries and the organization’s structural reforms. They also
addressed the Armenian-Turkish relations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EUROINTEGRATION FOR ARMENIA – PERSPECTIVE WITHOUT ALTERNATIVES: ARMENIAN SPEAKER
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2006
YEREVAN, May 16. /ARKA/. Eurointegration for Armenia is the
perspective without alternatives, Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan
told reporters.
According to him, being a full member of the Council of Europe,
Armenia should continue fulfilling her commitments before this
structure. “Our country should display more determination in
implementing ‘New Neighborhood’ EU program, as democracy and freedom
bring to a totally new perspective of development,” Bagdasaryan said.
He pointed out that the further intensification of democratic processes
and consistent inculcation of European values in the country will
result in development of economy and prosperity of Armenia.
“A freely developing economy and society can do much more than all
governmental programs taken together,” Bagdasaryan said and added
that Armenia should employ much more determination while moving
toward Eurointegration.
The third round of negotiations on the development of the EU-Armenia
Plan of Actions in the frameworks of the “New Neighborhood” EU policy
was held in Yerevan on 3 May.
The European movement of Armenia recognized Artur Bagdasaryan as the
best European of the year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TO EXPLAIN HIS PARTY DECISION TO QUIT RULING COALITION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 12 2006
YEREVAN, May 12. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan is expected to explain why his Orinats Yerkir, one of
three governing parties, quits the ruling coalition.
Orinats Yerkir press service told ARKA News Agency that the party
board made this decision at its session held Thursday night.
The ruling coalition members are Armenian Republican Party, Orinats
Yerkir and Dashnaktsutyun.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KONSTANTIN ZATULIN: ADMINISTRATIVE BORDER IS THE ONLY BASIS THAT ALLOWS AZERBAIJAN TO LAY CLAIMS TO KARABAKH
ArmRadio.am
17.05.2006 13:52
“Non-complete peace is more preferable than war. From South Caucasian
countries only Armenia is interested in the maintenance of peace,”
Director of the CIS Institute, Deputy of the Russian State Duma
Konstantin Zatulin said today in Yerevan.
“The status-quo in the Karabakh issue is not favorable for the Azeri
side, which considers its interests are violated. Azerbaijan demands
resumption of territorial integrity recognized in Soviet era. The
administrative border is the only basis that allows Azerbaijan to
lay claims to Karabakh,” Zatulin said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN ARMENIA IN FAVOUR OF CONFIDENCE IN CAUCASUS
Mediamax news agency
17 May 06
Yerevan, 17 May: An international conference called “Caucasus Without
Conflicts and Terrorism – Dialogue of Civilizations at the Caucasus
Crossroads” opened in Yerevan today.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Ara Abramyan, president
of the Union of Armenians of Russia, noted that “the problems facing
the great Caucasus region can be resolved only through a dialogue”.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Gegam Garibdzhanyan said that the
formation of an atmosphere of confidence in the region may facilitate
the implementation of the regional programmes of the international
community.
“Armenia’s position on issues of regional policy is based on
the exclusion of new dividing lines and on the establishment of
cooperation,” Gegam Garibdzhanyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA HOPES PARLIAMENT WILL VOTE DOWN ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 19:38 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Parliamentarians Union head Hasan Korkmazcan
said yesterday that a bill about the Armenian genocide facing the
French Parliament this week will set a historical test for bilateral
relations, while French Ambassador to Ankara Paul Poudade asserted
that the French government opposes the bill. The debates about the
bill proposing prison terms and fines to those who question the
claims are mounting as the date for debates of the bill looms, New
Anatolian reports.
“Some politicians who have limited political influence, accepted
the Armenian Genocide claims,” Korkmazcan said adding that the bill
“is targeted against scientific investigations and freedom of speech.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE IS BEING ELECTED
A1+
[01:58 pm] 17 May, 2006
At present the general session of the RA National Academy of Science
is under way. The session is to elect a new President. There are three
candidates for the post: Head of the NAS Mechanics Institute Lenser
Akhalovyan, Scientific secretary of the Academy Edward Ghazaryan and
ex rector of the Yerevan State University Radik Martirosyan.
79 academicians and correspondents participate in the closed
session. The voting will take place at about 03:00 PM.
Let us remind you that the post has been vacant since the resignation
of Fadey Sargsyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAKU SAYS CEMETERY STILL INTACT
The Moscow Times, Russia
May 17 2006
BAKU, Azerbaijan — An aide to Azerbaijan’s president on Tuesday
denied a report that a centuries-old ethnic Armenian cemetery had
been destroyed.
The report by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting said the
medieval Djulfa cemetery in the exclave of Nakhichevan, which once
included thousands of intricately carved crosses, had vanished. The
report said its journalist was not allowed by accompanying security
forces to go to the cemetery site, but that the journalist was near
enough to see the cemetery was gone.
“This is an absolutely lying publication and statement,”
said Ali Khasanov, an aide to President Ilham Aliyev. “Not one
cultural-historical monument, not one Armenian cemetery in the
autonomous Nakhichevan republic has been destroyed.”
Accusations that Azerbaijan had destroyed the cemetery have raised
tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are at odds over
Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been under control
of Armenian and local Karabakh forces since a separatist war ended
with a shaky cease-fire in 1994. The Djulfa cemetery site is generally
off-limits because it lies in a security zone along the Iranian border.
Khasanov said the government was ready to work with international
commissions to clarify the status of cultural and historical sites.(AP)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress