Author: Emil Lazarian

PanARMENIAN.Net
Preliminary Results of A-320 Crash Investigation
Announced
12.05.2006 13:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Russian Ministry of Transport
has furnished the preliminary results of the A-320 jet
crash near Sochi. The commission has analyzed the
records of the talks between the crewmembers and the
flying control officers as well as the data from the
radar set. While the plane was performing the allowed
approach operation the control officer due to bad
weather conditions ordered the crew to stop reducing
height and make a right turn with gaining altitude.
The plane proceeded to the maneuver but then started
landing again and crashed into the water.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenpress
BELGIAN DRAFT LAW PROPOSES CRIMINALIZING GENOCIDE
DENIAL
BRUSSELS, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS: Belgium’s Reformist
Movement party proposed a draft law in Parliament,
which would expand the definition of genocide denial
to the Armenian genocide. It is already a crime to
deny the Holocaust in Belgium, and the lawmakers who
proposed the bill want to extend the law to denial of
the Armenian genocide as well.
The Belgian Parliament failed to enact the same law
two years ago, fearing reprisals from Turkey. Meantime
Turkey’s ambassadors to Canada and France have
returned to their posts after being recalled to Ankara
because of disagreements on whether the massacres of
Armenians during World War I constituted genocide, a
Turkish diplomat was quoted by France Press as saying
Thursday.
A first reading of the French bill, proposed by the
opposition Socialist Party, is scheduled for May 18.
It follows a 2001 French law officially recognizing
the Armenian genocide and, if approved, the new bill
would provide for a five-year sentence and a 45,000
Euro (57,000 Dollar) fine for any person who denies
that the 1915-17 massacres constitute genocide.
Turkish Lawmaker visiting France said they “relayed
the Turkish people’s strong reaction to our French
colleagues” and warned that there were calls for a
boycott of French goods in Turkey and that
Turkish-French relations would be severely harmed if
the bill is passed, Turkey’s Anatolia news agency
reported.
Turkey was also angered when Canadian Prime
Minister Steven Harper reaffirmed the Armenian
genocide during commemorations of the 91st anniversary
of the Genocide on April 24. The Turkish foreign
ministry said at the time that Harper’s words were
“appalling” and would “negatively affect” bilateral
ties. In protest, Turkey withdrew from a planned
multi-nation military exercise to be held in Canada,
officials in Ottawa said on Wednesday.
In 2002, the Canadian Senate recognized the
Armenian genocide as the first genocide of the 20th
century and the House of Commons followed suit two
years later.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SPEAKER ARTHUR BAGHDASARYAN ANNOUNCED ABOUT HIS RESIGNATION
Lragir.am
12 May 06
On May 12 at the National Assembly Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan announced
about his resignation and the secession from the coalition of the political
party he leads. Arthur Baghdasaryan says his decision and the decision of the
political party are determined by three major disagreements with their
colleagues in the coalition and President Kocharyan. These refer to the economy, home
and foreign policies. `Yes, we are against a criminalized economy.Yes, we
think that a freely developing economy and society can do more for a country
than the government policies altogether. Therefore, we state that economic
legislation cannot be criminalized. Decentralization of power and businessis
required. Our consistent integration with European Organizations should beour
priority in politics. And we must foster democratic reforms,’ stated Arthur
Baghdasaryan. He mentions that the same atmosphere made the members of
parliament, who own businesses, to come out of the political party. =80=9CI do not blame
these businessmen, I blame the society of fear. For presently businessmen are
in fear. If they have heard whispers that there is disagreement between
Arthur Baghdasaryan and Robert Kocharyan, it is already an argument that should
make them realize where they are going to appear. Even though debates were
underway on those days,’ says Arthur Baghdasaryan.
Arthur Baghdasaryan also mentions about controversies on foreign policies.`
For us, European integrity does not have an alternative. We emphasize the
consistent fulfillment of commitments our country assumed and a consistent
development of Euro-Atlantic partnership. On this path we emphasize the consistent
development of friendly relations with Russia, and we are not supposed to
oppose Russian and Western values. I find that tomorrow Armenia will be inthe
European Union as a friend of Russia,’ says the speaker of the National
Assembly.
He says democracy and freedom can foster development of a country and a
nation more than various government policies. `We need an alternative, full of
changes, we do not need an atmosphere of fear, which suffocates dissent. We
must choose this path. This is our vision, our vision of a political
organization, and we will be guided by it,’ says Arthur Baghdasaryan. He says it is
natural that he first informed the president and the coalition colleagues about
his resignation, with whom he worked for several years and even had success.
The speaker of the National Assembly says it is wrong information that the
real cause of his resignation and disagreement with the president was the
Karabakh issue. `I think the talks for the settlement of the Karabakh issue are
highly constructive. Our country has a highly constructive standpoint on this
question,’ says Arthur Baghdasaryan.
`Our political decision that was made was to be made, because we were
constantly involved in scandals. Now we have decided to follow our own path. The
coalition will probably continue to operate, the Republican Party and
Dashnaktsutiun will, I think, go on to involve new players in the coalition. But
future developments will show,’ says Arthur Baghdasaryan. He did not give details
on the future, not even on likelihood to stand for president, which will be
decided in the future, says Arthur Baghdasaryan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Hrant Khachatryan: The opposition is not a gathering of the defeated

ArmRadio.am
12.05.2006 16:52
`The opposition is not a gathering of the defeated and the persecuted,
who need to regain strength and try to seize power in this or that
way. Besides, Arthur Baghdasaryan should be accepted or rejected by
the people,’ President of the Constitutional Right Union Hrant
Khachatryan said in response to the question whether Arthur
Baghdasaryan will have a place in the opposition after he resigns.
Although it is common to say that preelection processes start the very
day after the elections, the internal political developments in
Armenia, according to Hrant Khachatryan, already take a preelection
nature. With this the history of coalitions can hardly be considered
over, but it is for sure that the history of this coalition is ended,
Mr. Khachatryan is confident.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Turkish press 12 May 06

Quotes package from BBC Monitoring
12 May 06
X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian
X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 — ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
France and the Armenian issue
Posta (tabloid) “The Armenian Diaspora’s activities regarding the
[alleged] genocide will continue for many more years. For many more
years, (especially as long as Turkey goes on with its current
sleepwalking attitude), there will be big arguments and political
rivalries. If we do not make good calculations from today on and do
not keep our reactions within realistic limits, in the future there
may not be any card left for us to play.”
(Commentary by Mehmet Ali Birand)
Hurriyet (centre-right) “France is not the old strong country of
Europe any more… This trauma is taking democracy, secularism,
freedom of thought and expression champion France away from reason and
logic to such an extent that it is coming into a dramatic
contradiction.” (Commentary by Tufan Turenc)
“In this atmosphere [in France] in which a battle is going on to win
votes, is there any need to point out how vitally important the votes
of over 300,000 French Armenians are? Relations with Turkey? Nobody is
currently minded to think about that. Internal political competitions
may sometimes get in the way of the long term interests of a country.
France is going through such a period.” (Commentary by Ferai Tinc)
Milliyet (centrist) “If Turkey has any importance in the eyes of Paris
as a friend and partner, it has to know that its current attitude will
backfire.” (Commentary by Sami Kohen)
Iran/USA
Yeni Safak (liberal, pro-Islamic) “The world is on the brink of a
dangerous division into camps. The Iran crisis is only one dimension
of this crisis. Very soon we will face new shockwaves. Latin America,
Africa and Asia too are being shaken by anti-American developments.
The USA may come face to face with a crushing geopolitical defeat.”
(Commentary by Ibrahim Karagul)
Kurds/USA
Radikal (centre-left) “Turkey has amassed a [military] force at the
border that will be sufficient for a broad operation. It is
waiting. The USA, Iraq and the [northern Iraqi] Kurds are against
Turkey doing its own business… Not only [the northern Iraqi Kurds],
the USA too is openly using the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] for its
own ends. The US embassy in Ankara denies reports that they are in
contact with the PKK. But if the newspaper archives are checked it
can be seen that these contacts go back years.”
(Commentary by M. Ali Kislali)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA CULTURE MINISTER BELIEVS THAT “ORINATS YERKIR” PARTY IS NO MORE
COMPETENT FOR DECISION TO RECALL HIM
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. “Though the portfolio of Culture Minister
was handed to “Orinats Yerkir” party, but I am a non-party person and
the cultural figures put forward my candidacy,” Gevorg Gevorgian, RA
Culture Minister, said this in the interview to ArmInfo.
He emphasized that he never clung to the minister’s portfolio and
agreed to occupy this post for the sake of the development of the
sphere. “I am ready to continue restoration of Armenia’s fame as a
country of highly developed culture,” he said. Besides, he said that
there is still much to do in that direction.
It’s worth mentioning that in the course of one of the government
sittings, RA PM Andranik Margarian said that Mr. Gevorgian is a person
who managed to do a lot for the restoration of the cultural sphere in
a couple of months.
Gevorgian managed to return the edifices of the theatres that were
privatized earlier through the court. Today, a number of cultural
figures of Armenia stated about their support to Gevorgian, in the
interview to ArmInfo.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA PRESIDENT:RECENT EVENTS WILL YIELD NO HOME POLITICAL CRISIS IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. RA President Robert Kocharian quietly treats
the withdrawal of “Orinats Yerkir ” party from coalition, as well as
the future resignation of Artur Baghdasarian, Speaker of RA National
Assembly. Victor Soghomonian, Press Secretary of RA President, told
ArmInfo correspondent about this.
He said that a change in the structure of the coalition is a normal
development for any civilized country. Soghomonian said that there was
nothing extraordinary in that withdrawal, especially, if we take into
account the existing contradictions within the coalition. At the same
time, he expressed confidence that the recent events will yield no
home political crisis in Armenia. Soghomonian added that “the
divorce” of the coalition was quite civilized and the ARFD and the
Republican Party will continue their activities within the coalition
memorandum. He stated that after the certain changes conditioned by
the recent events, both RA Parliament and RA Government will continue
their common activities.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARSHAK SADOYAN BELIEVES WITHDRAWAL OF “ORINATS YERKIR” PARTY FROM
COALITION MAY HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT FOR ARMENIA
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The withdrawal of “Orinats Yerkir” party
from coalition may have also positive impact for Armenia. Arshak
Sadoyan, leader of “Faction of National Democrats” party, said this at
today’s press conference.
He said that the withdrawal of “Orinats Yerkir” from the coalition was
quite natural, as the coalition was shaped on artificial basis, as an
additional pro-governmental force. Certainly, other candidates for
this role came forward and clashes began within the coalition forces,
soon. Artur Baghdasarian, leader of “Orinats Yerkir” party, speaker of
RA National Assembly, became another victim in that clash.
At the same time, Sadoyan said that hardly pre-time parliamentary
elections will be held in Armenia. If the country manages to avoid
chain of resignation of high ranked officials, the next parliamentary
elections will be held in 2007. According to him, the most beneficial
variant for the development of the events in Armenia till the next
elections in 2007 would be the strengthening of the “People’s Deputy”
parliamentary group, including its admission into coalition. Most of
the group’s deputies are elected through the majority principle and
are aware of the current problems. “If I was asked who would I like to
see as the speaker of the parliament, I would offer a candidate from
the opposition, even my candidacy. But none will ask anything, as I am
a mere observer,” Sadoyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LPP LEADER: “ORINATS YERKIR” PARTY’S LEAVING THE RULING COALITION IS
RESULT OF GENOCIDE OF COUNTRY’S POLITICAL FIELD CARRIED OUT BY
AUTHORITIES
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The “Orinats Yerkir” party’s leaving the
Armenian ruling political coalition is a result of genocide of the
country’s political field carried out by the present authorities, the
leader of the Liberal-Progressive party Hovhannes Hovhannessyan told
ArmInfo correspondent. To be reminded, Hovhannessyan had been heading
the Parliament’s Constant Commission for Foreign Relations in
1999-2003.
According to Hovhannessyan, the “OY” party’s leaving the ruling
coalition is appropriate and expected. There was not a uniting idea in
the coalition except one of profit and money, Hovhannessyan
said. Having resigned, the Parliament speaker and the “OY” leader
Arthur Baghdasaryan made a right political step and all the members of
the “OY” faction, as well as the oppositional deputies have to lay
down the Parliament mandates together with him. This will create a
parliament crisis in the country, turning to a governmental one which
will cause serious internal political processes the country needs long
since, Hovhannessyan said.
Asked if the union or cooperation of the Liberal-Progressive party,
well-known by its westernized orientation, is possible with the same
westernized “Orinats Yerkir”, Hovhannessyan did not rule out
neither. However, he made a slip in speaking that the cooperation or
unification with the “OY” is possible only on the basis of a common
ideological platform. But it is ruled out on the basis of “common
money”, Hovhannessyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FRENCH “LIBERATION” PUBLISHES LETTER OF PROTEST FROM TURKISH INTELLECTUALS
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 11 2006
A group of 9 well-known Turkish intellectuals co-wrote a letter of
protest against the bill to be considered in the French Parliament
next week which would, if passed, mandate prison sentences for people
publicly denying Armenian genocide claims.
The letter was published in yesterday’s edition of the French
newspaper “Liberation,” and warns French people of the repurcussions
from possible passage of the drafted bill, which is to be debated in
parliament on May 18.
A portion of the letter, which was written by Murat Belge, Halil
Berktay, Elif Safak, Hrant Dink, Muge Gocek, Ahmet Insel, Etyen
Mahcupyan, Baskin Oran, and Ragip Zarakolu, says: “What is for
certain is that this law would make the process for those searching
for solutions to these claims even more difficult. And a resulting
paradox is that if France itself passes such a law, blocking free
debate on the Armenian genocide question, the result will create
similar or even stronger reactions in Turkey.”