Author: Emil Lazarian

NATO MEMBERSHIP IS A NATURAL ASPIRATION
Lragir.am
04 May 06
NATO membership requires compliance with a set of humanitarian,
political and economic standards, but an application is enough to
become member of the Collective Security Treaty. The Ukrainian
Ambassador to Armenia Alexander Bojko compared the Western and
post-soviet security organizations May 4 in Yerevan.
He said that NATO is not merely a military organization, it is also
an economic and political organization, which enables countries to
develop. According to the ambassador, NATO has aspirations in the
post-soviet area, which favor the interests of Ukraine and Armenia. The
purpose is stability. “The aspiration of Ukraine to enter NATO is a
natural aspiration, a normal desire of a normal country, which wants
to improve its life,” says the Ukrainian Ambassador to Armenia.
The United States is highly interested in entering NATO. Several days
ago information appeared in British newspapers that the Unites States
is likely to lobby the members of NATO to expedite the membership of
Ukraine. Hence, Ukraine may have become member of NATO by 2008.
Ambassador Bojko does not deny such developments. “Never say never,”
says the ambassador.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PARTIES DID NOT APPLY TO GEORGIAN AIR NAVIGATION FOR ASSISTANCE
Tbilisi, May 4. ArmInfo-BSP. Either the Armenian or the Russian
parties had applied to the Georgian Air Navigation for the records
of the last talks of Georgian flying control officers and the crew
of the Armenian wrecked plane till the last moment, Novosti-Georgia
reports. Armenian Airbus A-320 belonging to Armavia company flying
from Yerevan to Sochi crashed into the Black Sea on May 3 near Sochi.
Georgy Karbelashvili, Head of Georgian Air Navigation, told journalists
those records could become an important evidence in the investigation
of the crash. Karbelashvili said he had already offered assistance
to the Armenian Ambassador to Georgia. He said the records show that
A-320 had been in the airspace of Georgia for about an hour, then
almost reaching the border with Russia the plane had to turn back
because of the bad weather. However, not reaching Kutaisi, the plane
again took the former course as the Russian flying control officer
informed the crew about the improving weather in Sochi. Karbelashvili
refutes the report that allegedly the crew was proposed to land in
Tbilisi airport. He said that under international navigation rules,
a crew is informed of all the possible airports for emergency landing
before the flight. In the given case, those were the airports in
Russia and Yerevan. The last words of the Armenian pilot to Georgian
flying control officers were: “Thank you, see you on the way back!” The
Airbus disappeared from the Georgian monitors at 2:05 AM Tbilisi time
and crashed into the sea in about 10 minutes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VAHAGN MELIKIAN TO BE REPLACED BY ARMEN GICHIAN ON POST OF HEAD OF STATE PROTOCOL SERVICE OF RA FM
Noyan Tapan
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Under the decision of RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian, Vahagn Melikian was relieved of the post of
Head of the State Protocol Service agency of RA Foreign Ministry. As
Noyan Tapan was informed from RA government’s Information and Public
Relations Department, under another decision of the Prime Minister,
Armen Gichian was appointed Head of the State Protocol Service agency
of RA Foreign Ministry.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BERNARD FASSIER PRESENTS RESULTS OF OSCE MINSK CO-CHAIRMEN’S MOSCOW CONSULTATIONS TO ROBERT KOCHARIAN
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. RA President Robert
Kocharian received on May 4 OSCE Minsk Group French Co-Chairman
Bernard Fassier. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s
Press Office, Bernard Fassier presented to Robert Kocharian results
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen’s consultations taken place in
Moscow on May 2 and 3.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS HIGHLY ESTIMATES RAMKAVAR-AZATAKAN PARTY’S MISSION IN NATIONAL LIFE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
ECHMIADZIN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On May 4, Catholicos
of All Armenians Karekin II received the newly elected members of
the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party’s Central Board in the Mother See of Holy
Echmiadzin. As Noyan Tapan was informed from the Information Services
of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin, His Holiness the Patriarch
congratulated the guests on the occasion of their election and conveyed
his good wishes to them. The Patriarch highly estimated the party’s
mission in the national life. He called on them to contribute to
fulfilment of people’s good wishes in the same spirit and with the
high consciousness of the homeland’s interests.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LAW ON TEACHING IN SCHOOLS ARMENIAN LANGUAGE MAY BE ADOPTED IN CALIFORNIA
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
LOS ANGELES, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Dario Frommer,
a member of the Parliament of California who has assisted adoption of
laws beneficial for Armenians many times, presented a draft by which
teaching of the Armenian language is envisaged in state schools of
California. According to Radio Liberty, the legislator representing
Glendale and Burbank calls on by this draft to hold qualification of
teachers of the Armenian language for a great number of specialists
get the right to teach Armenian in California. 3904 Armenian children
study in schools who speak only in Armenian. They make 49% of pupils.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AIRBUS EXPERTS HOPEFUL OF RECOVERING PLANE WRECK FROM BLACK SEA
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 4 2006
MOSCOW, May 4 (RIA Novosti) – Airbus specialists plan to recover the
flight recorders and all parts of an Airbus plane that crashed in the
Black Sea Wednesday killing 113 people, the Russian transportation
minister said Thursday.
An Airbus A-320 belonging to Armenia’s Armavia Airlines flying from
the country’s capital, Yerevan, crashed about six kilometers from
the Russian coast en route to an airport in Adler, which services
the resort of Sochi. All 113 passengers and crew were killed.
Igor Levitin, speaking in an interview with government daily
Rossiyskaya Gazeta to be published Friday, said: “They do not intend
to limit their activity to searching for black boxes, but also to
recover all parts of the plane by themselves, as it is important
for the manufacturer to establish whether the crash was linked with
plane’s technical state.”
The European company equips its A-320 model with special radio beacons
emitting signals at a certain frequency and at set intervals.
Levitin said a provisional analysis of the crew’s communications with
ground control suggested that bad weather was the most likely cause of
the crash, adding that further analysis by Russian technical experts
should provide a clearer picture of events.
Igor Levitin said earlier that parts of the plane had been found at a
depth of 680 meters (2,230 feet). An emergencies ministry official said
Airbus specialists working at the site had detected a radio signal,
possibly from the plane’s flight recorders. Two ministry teams are
also working at the site, searching for signals.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SAFAROV HAS SUBMITTED NO APPEAL COMPLAINT YET
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. As of May 3, Azerbaijani
officer Ramil Safarov who killed officer of RA Armed Forces Gurgen
Margarian with an axe had not submitted an appeal complaint against
the April 13 verdict of Budapest court. Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed about it by Armenian lawyer Nazeli Vardanian representing the
interests of the aggrieved party. To recap, according to the verdict,
Safarov was sentenced to life imprisonment without the right of pardon
during the first 30 years. Safarov had declared at the court that
he is going to appeal against the verdict. The Hungarian legislation
envisages a term of 15 days after receiving the text of the verdict
for submitting a complaint. The Armenian party, for instance, has not
received the verdict yet. According to Nazeli Vardanian’s information,
the court sitting on the second case instituted against Safarov,
on application of violence towards chief warders, also took place
yesterday. According to the witnesses, Safarov was very dispirited. 2
of 11 witnesses were interrogated at the sitting, the court sitting
was postponed, the day of the next sitting will be announced later.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES OVER 22 THOUSAND USD FOR HOLDING CONTEST OF CELLISTS AFTER ARAM KHACHATRIAN
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the Government’s
May 4 sitting, 10 mln drams (over 22 thousand USD) was allocated
to RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs for holding the contest
of cellists after Aram Khachatrian from May 30 to June 6, 2006. As
Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Government Information and Public
Relations Department, under another decision, the Hayfilm Film Studio
after Hamo Beknazarian State Non-commercial organization was renamed
Armenian National Cinema Center State Non-commercial organization.
In this connection, under the same decision, amendments and additions
were made in RA Government’s April 17 2002 decision N 417 “On Founding
a State Non-commercial Organization”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES OVER 160 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR PREPARATION AND HOLDING OF THIRD ARMENIA-DIASPORA FORUM
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. At the May 4 sitting,
the Armenian government made a decision to allocate 72 mln 862.5
thousand drams (about 162 thousand USD) from its 2006 reserve fund
for the purpose of preparing and holding the third Armenia-Diaspora
forum in Yerevan in September 2006. NT was informed about it from
the RA Government Information and PR Department.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress