Author: Jalatian Sonya

RA FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ISSUE OF RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 17 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On May 17, RA Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian received the international experts on
issues of the Armenian Genocide who are in Armenia for the purpose
of taking part in the conference organized by the World Armenian
Congress. Expressing gratitude for their invaluable contribution to
the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Minister Oskanian
greeted the WAC’s initiative of organizing discussions in Yerevan for
the purpose of putting forward the most important Pan Armenian issue
in a systematized way. As Noyan Tapan was informed from RA Foreign
Ministry Press and Information Department, the meeting participants
gave an estimation to the policy of negationism towards the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, which is recently implemented at
the state level and with introduction of considerable resources. In
this respect they emphasized the necessity of consolidation of the
Armenian side’s forces.

RUSSIAN MILITARY HARDWARE QUITS GEORGIA IN BASE CLOSURE

Agence France Presse — English
May 15, 2006 Monday 9:39 AM GMT

A special train began transporting Russian tanks and other military
hardware from Georgia Monday in line with an agreement to shut down
Moscow’s last military bases in the strategic ex-Soviet republic.

The train carried tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other
vehicles from the Akhalkalaki military base in southern Georgia,
an AFP reporter at the scene said.

To reach Russia, on the other side of the Caucasus mountains range,
the train must first wind east through Georgia’s neighbour Azerbaijan,
the deputy commander of Russia’s forces in Georgia, Vladimir Kuparadze,
said.

The base “will be completely closed by the end of the year. A part
of the equipment will be delivered to the Gyumri base in Armenia”,
Kuparadze told AFP.

Under the agreement reached in May last year, Russia is also closing
another base at Batumi, on the Black Sea coast, with the closure due
for completion in 2008.

The deal resolved a long-standing source of tension between Georgia
and Russia, with the government in Tbilisi accusing Moscow of using
the military presence to undermine the country’s independence.

Under a 1999 agreement, Russia is also supposed to have already closed
another military base, the Gudauta base, in the province of Abkhazia.

However, the region is ruled by pro-Russian separatists and Georgia’s
government says it has not been able to verify the closure.

Relations between the two countries have worsened since Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in 2004 vowing closer
integration with the West and promising to take his country into the
Western-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Georgia has become a strategic battleground as the West sees it as an
important route for westward exports of oil and gas from Central Asia.

The closure of the base at Akhalkalaki has prompted objections from
local residents concerned that they will incur economic losses as
a result.

FRENCH BILL ON ARMENIAN DEATHS WORRIES TURKEY
By Martin Arnold in Paris and Vincent Boland in Ankara

FT
May 18 2006 03:00

France’s relations with Turkey will come under strain today if the
parliament in Paris approves a bill that would make it a crime to
deny the killing of Armenians by Ottoman troops in 1915 was genocide.

Turkish academics have warned that if the opposition proposal becomes
law, it would be “disastrous” for the democratic movement in Turkey.

It could also cause economic disruption, with business leaders warning
that French products could be boycotted in Turkey.

Ankara recalled its ambassador to Paris briefly last week “for
consultations” in protest at today’s vote. It also pulled back its
ambassador to Ottawa, following comments by the Canadian prime minister
that appeared to express support for Armenia’s view that the killings
were genocide.

The Armenian issue is particularly sensitive in France because of
its 450,000-strong Armenian community.

Armenians claim up to 1.5m people died in 1915-18. Turkey denies
genocide, and admits only that hundreds of thousands of both Armenians
and Turks died, largely due to civil war and famine.

Halil Berktay, one of the first Turkish historians to break the taboo
on Armenia, said in yesterday’s Le Monde that the effects of thenew
French law would be “disastrous”.

He warned that Ankara could retaliate with a law criminalising
recognition of the genocide. “There is a strong nationalist,
anti-European wave in Turkey at the moment.” he said.

The French bill would punish denial of the genocide with one year in
prison or a â~B¬45,000 fine, matching the penalty for denial of the
Jewish Holocaust.

–Boundary_(ID_9tXsPrq1HXyN27JPc3rkdg) —

FIRST TRAIN OF RUSSIAN WEAPONS FROM GEORGIA HEADS FOR RUSSIA

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 15 2006

BAKU, May 15 (Itar-Tass) — The first trainload of Russian hardware
and weapons from Russia’s military base in Akhalkalaki, Georgia,
that arrived in Azerbaijan on Monday evening is heading for the
Russian border.

The Azerbaijani railway administration told Itar-Tass that the Russian
train will get the “green light” along the way, in keeping with the
agreements between the two countries.

“The train will go straight through and reach the Azerbaijani-Russian
border on May 16, approximately at 2 p.m. Moscow time (1000 GMT). It
will proceed to Russia after formalities have been completed,” First
Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panakhov told Itar-Tass.

In his words, “The train will be handed over to the Russian side as
scheduled at 4.30 p.m. Moscow time (1230 GMT).”

The train left the station of Tsalka, Georgia, earlier on Monday. It
is carrying seven T-72 tanks, eight reconnaissance vehicles, four
infantry combat vehicles, four communication vans and 340 boxes with
rockets for Grad launchers.

All hardware and munitions are “in good condition,” Deputy
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian ground troops, Valery Yevnevich,
who controls the pullout process, told Itar-Tass.

“Hardware and munitions have been delivered by truck convoys by
mountain roads from Akhalakalaki, where there is no railway, to
Tsalka,” he said.

“We’ll strictly comply with the instructions of the Russian president
and the Defence Ministry. All hardware and munitions will be delivered
to the Russian bases and storage facilities on time,” Yevnevich said.

Under the agreements between Russia and Georgia, the withdrawal of
the Russian base from Akhalkalaki should be completed in 2007.

This year, 19 trainloads are expected to bring all hardware back to
Russia. The departures of other trains are scheduled for May 23, 25,
and 30.

Part of the hardware and munitions will be redeployed to the Russian
base of Gyumri, Armenia. The first truck convoy will leave for Gyumri
on May 18.

When all personnel, munitions and material supplies have been pulled
out of Akhalkalaki by late 2007, the base will be closed.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 13 2006

Armenian President discusses Garabagh conflict with OSCE Secretary
General

[ 13 May 2006 18:51 ]

Armenia’s President today had talks with OSCE Secretary General Marc
Perrin de Brichambaut (APA).

The sides exchanged views on the ongoing processes in the region and
reforms in OSCE as well. Kocharian informed the OSCE Secretary
General about the current negotiating process for the settlement of
the Nagorno Garabagh conflict. Armenian President said he supports
solving the problem in OSCE framework which is effective.
The sides also exchanged views on Armenia-Turkey relations./APA/

TEACHERS’ TRAINING CENTER OPENS IN GAVAR

Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006

GAVAR, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The teachers’ training center opened
in Gavar.

It will give possibility to teachers of the marz of Gegharkunik not
having passed training courses for more than ten years to improve their
pedagogical skills and deepen professional knowledge. Specialists of
the center will regularly pass training in Yerevan then to pass the
got knowlegde to teachers of secondary schools of the marz, during
the seminars organized in the center. The Education, Culture, Sports
and Youth Issues Department of the Gegharkunik Governor’s Office will
assist the center. The Center’s coordinators are appointed in the
cities of Sevan, Martuni, Vardenis and Chambarak to get acquainted
to porblems existing in schools and define works in the direction of
solving them.

HEARINGS ON STABILITY IN S. CAUCASUS TO BE HELD IN PACE MAY 12

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 11 2006

Parliamentary hearings on the subject “A Pact on Stability in the
South Caucasus” will be held in Strasbourg May 12, 2006.

In the course of the hearings the MPs’ attention will be focused
on the ways of achieving stability in the South Caucasus region
applying the model of the South – Eastern Europe, “Novosti – Armenia”
Information Agency reports quoting the Press Service of the Council of
Europe. A Romanian MP Adrian Severin is to make a report. To note,
the hearings have been initiated by the PACE Political Affairs
Committee. Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the
European Union, the World Bank and the counties of the “Great Eight”
will participate in the hearings.

PUBLIC COMPREHENSION OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT TO BE DISCUSSED TODAY

ArmRadio.am
11.05.2006 11:12

At the initiative of the public discussions center issues related
to public comprehension of the Karabakh conflict settlement in the
context of the current situation will be discussed today. Organizer of
the discussion Yervand Bozoyan told “Radiolur” that the main speaker
will be the President of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations
Armen Rustamyan.

KALMAR GETS DEEPER INTO WATER

Panorama.am
17:18 09/05/06

Kalmar underground device will start working at the place of À-320
airliner accident. The equipment was tested at 300-350 deep in the
water a day before. This time it will go as deep as 600 meters into
the water.

Ships are dislocated not to disturb the normal flow of search.

–Boundary_(ID_1Gl+CKW64To3WNy+AFXc+w)–

LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND RA PRESIDENT DISCUSS ISSUES RELATING TO
ARMENIA-DIASPORA CONFERENCE TO BE HELD THIS YEAR

YEREVAN, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Mike Kharabian, the
head of the Armenian Liberal Democratic Party (Ramgavar) expressed at
the May 6 meeting of the party delegation with RA President Robert
Kocharian, the Diasporan Armenian circles’ deep condolence on the
occasion of the May 3 plane crash. He mentioned that the Diaspora
grieves over the deaths as well as the Fatherland. Robert Kocharian
mentioned that in small Armenia where everybody is tied with each
other by relative-friendly ties, this tragedy created an atmosphere of
really general pain. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA President’s
Press Office, the delegation members spoke to Robert Kocharian about
the issues of a more effective usage of the Liberal Democratic Party’s
potential in Armenian initiatives and relating to the Armenia-Diaspora
conference to be held this year.