Author: Emil Lazarian

HOPE OF DISCOVERING CAUSE OF A320 CRASH
Lragir.am
12 May 06
The location of the black boxes of Armenian A320, which plunged
into the sea near Sochi, is detected more and more precisely. The
headquarters of technical support of the headquarters of search for
the victims and plane reported to ITAR TASS on May 11 that the FDR and
CVR of A320, which crashed on May 3, are at the bottom of the sea. On
May 12 additional telemetric investigation is planned. By preliminary
data, the black boxes are at a depth of 500 m, at a distance of 5 m
from each other.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COALITION’S DEAD, LONG LIVE COALITION!
Lragir.am
12 May 06
The secession of the Orinats Yerkir from the coalition marks the
end of the history of the ruling coalition. Oppositionist Member
of Parliament Hrant Khachatryan thus defined the situation in the
parliament on May 12 at the Pastark Club. However, he adds that the
history of coalition is not over for Armenia. In other words, we will
see other coalitions. As a result of scheduled or early elections.
Hrant Khachatryan does not exclude that the end of the coalition will
lead to an early election. The member of parliament even thinks that
the government may find an early election expedient because an early
election is held at a rather fast pace and allows solving a number of
problems by bringing together forces in a short period. Under these
circumstances, Hrant Khachatryan thinks that the opposition should
support the positive arguments of these developments and render the
negative arguments harmless.
“In other words, to keep the society alert, for it to be ready to
express its opinion during both scheduled and early elections. To
strengthen the political parties. You know that in the previous
elections both the government and opposition parties underwent
losses, both in terms of finance and human resources,” says Hrant
Khachatryan. According to him, under these circumstances the opposition
also needs to interpret these developments correctly.
Hrant Khachatryan says it is necessary to make profound analyses and
not to go in for surface observations, directing the slings and arrows
at one man. The leader of the Constitutional Right Union announces
that when Ter-Petrosyan was still in office, he criticized battling
a separate person, it is necessary to convey to the society that the
system is to blame.

“JOINT EFFORT – 2006” MILITARY EXERCISES TO START TODAY IN GERMANY AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
ArmRadio.am
12.05.2006 11:42
Under NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program “Joint Effort – 2006”
military exercises will start today in Germany and Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Earlier the Armenian side participated in the planning
conference in Tbilisi.
“If Armenian Officers participate in the planning activities, they
will take part also in the military exercises. The issue is that
Armenia should be invited by the organizing party,” Press Secretary
of the Defense Minister Seyran Shahsuvaryan said.

TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TOLD CRASHED AIRLINER TO CLIMB – INVESTIGATOR
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 11 2006
MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) – Air traffic controllers ordered an
Armenian passenger plane to gain altitude before it crashed over the
Black Sea last week killing 113 people, an investigation committee
official said Thursday.
“It has been established that, due to poor weather, during landing
an air traffic controller told the crew to stop descending and
to make a right turn while simultaneously gaining altitude,” said
Aleksei Morozov, the head of the Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK)
department on investigation of plane crashes.
“The plane started to turn right and gain altitude, but then it began
to descend and crashed into the water,” Morozov said.
The Airbus A-320 operated by Armenia’s Armavia was flying from the
Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Adler airport, which services the
popular Russian resort of Sochi, when it crashed 6 kilometers off
the Russian coast early Wednesday morning last week.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZERI, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS INVITED TO NATO SESSION
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
May 11 2006
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Pierre Lelouche has invited
Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders to a plenary session of the Assembly
due in Paris late in May.
President Ilham Aliyev has accepted the invitation and will visit the
French capital for the purpose, Radio Liberty reported. Lelouche said
NATO backs peace in the South Caucasus. The alliance therefore deems
it essential to hold meetings on the level of presidents to discuss
settlement of the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
“In Paris, we will look for ways of resolving the conflict, which
is very destructive. We need stability in the Caucasus. I have been
in trenches in Garabagh and know firsthand how hard it is for both
peoples. I am aware of the problems faced by refugees in Azerbaijan
and deplore their plight.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA DEPLOYS NEW BATCH OF PEACEKEEPERS TO KOSOVO
AP Worldstream
May 11, 2006
Armenia deployed 34 peacekeepers to join the U.N. mission in Kosovo
Thursday as part of a regular rotation, officials said.
It was the fifth rotation of Armenian peacekeepers to Kosovo, where
they have served since 2004 alongside a Greek battalion, Defense
Ministry spokesman Col. Seiran Shakhsuvarian said.
Some 17,000 NATO-led peacekeepers are deployed to Kosovo, which has
been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999 when a U.S.-led
air war put an end to attacks by Serb forces against the province’s
ethnic Albanian majority.
Armenia has also deployed nearly 50 troops to Iraq to serve as part
of the U.S.-led coalition.

OMBUDSMAN UNHAPPY WITH UN
Lragir.am
11 May 06
The election of Azerbaijan to the newly established UN Human Rights
Council will not affect the state of human rights in Armenia, said
Ombudsman Armen Harutiunyan May 11 to the reporter of Regnum.
Nevertheless, he said the election of Azerbaijan was not desirable.
“Azerbaijan’s election is not desirable because it establishes
asymmetrical relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. I am not
satisfied with the state of human rights in Armenia but I am also
unlikely to think that in Azerbaijan it is better,” said Armen
Harutiunyan. According to him, the presence of Azerbaijan in the
council restricts Armenia’s opportunities. “There they will have more
opportunities than Armenia to defend their subjectivity,” said the
defender of human rights. He said that the outcome of the election to
the UN Human Rights Council confirms that there was a nonobjective
approach. Armen Harutiunyan states that every election involves a
political approach as well.

WHY THEY WERE NOT DISMISSED FROM THE PARTY
Lragir.am
11 May 06
The outflow of businessmen members of parliament from the Orinats
Yerkir Party has been one of the burning issues recently. The political
party has not given an official assessment yet. We have information
that it was known inside the party that these members of parliament
would quit, however, they did not attempt to dismiss them.
An Orinats Yerkir member of parliament told our reporter that the
political council did not make such a decision, despite the demand
of the political party, not to deal a blow to these members of
parliament. “Although the decay of morality in politics led to a
great tragedy, we did not take that step,” said the OYP representative.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION OF FRENCH PARLIAMENT TURNED DOWN DRAFT ON PENALTY FOR GENOCIDE DENIAL
PanARMENIAN.Net
11.05.2006 13:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Wednesday May 10, the Legislative Commission of
the French Parliament turned down the draft aiming at penalizing the
negation of the Armenian Genocide. This decision followed a request
of French President Jacques Chirac. The French deputies remain free
to take part in programmed work on May 18.
“We are afraid that certain deputies sacrifice the memory of the
victims of the Armenian genocide, yielding to the political and
economic pressures exerted by Turkey,” said Alexis Govciyan, chairman
of the Coordination Council of the ArmenianOrganizations of France
(CCAF).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EDIFICE IN PLACE OF CINEMA HOUSE WILL NOT BE HIGHER THAN BUILDINGS IN REPUBLICAN SQUARE
Armenpress
May 11 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS: Chief architect of Yerevan, Samvel
Danielian, told a news conference today that ‘a multi-functional’
edifice that is going to be built in place of Cinema House near what
Yerevan residents call Vernisage will not be higher than buildings
in nearby Republican Square.
He said the first 4 or 5 floors of the building will be given to the
Cinema House and the rest will house offices. According to Danielian,
the design of the future building will be approved by the municipality
only after deciding how many floors it will have and where its parking
lot will be built.
Danielian said also another ‘multi-functional’ edifice will be erected
in place of Sevan hotel in downtown Yerevan, but he added the building
will have as many floors as the hotel had.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress