Author: Jilavian Emma

ARTUR AGHABEKIAN: SOONER OR LATER TURKEY WILL RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 24 2006

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. It is more Turkey
that should understand that sooner or later the whole world, every
state will recognize the Armenian Genocide. RA Deputy Defence Minister
Artur Aghabekian gave assurance in his interview to journalists on
April 24, at the memorial complex of the Armenian Genocide victims. He
mentioned that today steps aimed at the recognition of the Genocide
are taken even by the states that are to some extent guilty with their
indifference, their participation for the Genocide in Turkey. “I think
Armenia’s right diplomacy, right conduct will also awaken the states
that have been indifferent in the years of the Genocide and remain
indifferent today,” RA Deputy Defence Minister said. In response
to the question, whether Turkey will recognize the Genocide, Artur
Aghabekian said: “Turkey will have to recognize the Genocide. If it
does not recognize today, it will do this tomorrow, how can it deny
the historical justice?”

From: [email protected]
Subject: Lyon Monument to The Genocide Restored and Under Strict Control

LYON MONUMENT TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS BROUGHT TO FORMER
APPEARANCE AND TAKEN UNDER STRICT CONTROL

LYON, APRIL 21, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Turkish and French
notes left by unknown evil-doers on the monument to the Armenian
Genocide victims erected in the French city of Lyon have already been
cleaned, and the monument was brought to its former appearance. The
Istanbul “Marmara” daily informs about this, quoting the information
of the Turkish “Huriet” newspaper. Distortion of the monument caused
indignation not only within the Armenian but the French official
cirles as well, and the authorities decided to take the monument under
control. Armenians of Lyon formed groups for guarding the monument and
will keep the monument under 24-hours control. Besides, the Lyon Mayor
Office instructed four policemen two of who must guard the inner
parts, other two must guard the outer parts of the monument. The city
authorities also placed video cameras owing to which the territory
will always be under control. Nicolas Sarkozy, the Minister of
Interior of France, condemned the attack towards the Armenian monument
and said that similar assaults are inadmissible. He emphasized that
the criminals must probably be found out and punished. Such attacks
means usage of the policy of hatred and refusal, Sarkozy
said. Respoding the question relating to the resolution on the
Armenian Genocide, the Minister stated that France supports
Armenians. To recap, the monument to the Armenian Genocide victims
will officially open on April 24.

ARMENIAN-RUSSIAN COOPERATION AT HIGHEST LEVEL, RA DM STATES

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2006

Yerevan, April 19. /ARKA/. The level of Armenian-Russia cooperation is
most high and covers a wide range of issues, RA Minister of Defense
Serge Sargsyan stated in his interview to the “Krasnaya Zvezda”
(Red Star) newspaper.

“Of course, we must by no means stop at what we have achieved. On
the contrary, we should constantly develop these relations. All the
more so that we have not only necessary legal and historical basis,
but also wish for this,” the Minister said.

He pointed out that RF Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov paid a
visit to Armenia in January, and the sides discussed prospects of
Armenian-Russian relations, which are rather high.

Sargsyan stressed that the Armenia-NATO relations are by no means
developing at the expense of Armenian-Russian cooperation, which can
only be expanded in all directions.

“We realize the need to be acquainted with the experience of
development of other countries’ armed forces,” Sargsyan said.

He pointed out that a special role in the Armenian-Russian relations
is assigned to Russian military base #102. Sargsyan did not rule out
the possibility of training courses for students of Russian military
schools in Armenia’s mountain grounds.

“Why not. We will receive them with pleasure if the Russian side
asks for this. Cooperation cannot be unilateral, can it? Hundreds
of Armenian servicemen, including officers and generals, receive
education in the higher schools of the RF Ministry of Defense every
year,” Sargsyan said.

AZERI EXPERT SAYS 10-15 YEARS NEEDED TO CLEAR MINES IN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

ANS TV, Baku
18 Apr 06

Nazim Ismayilov, director of the Azerbaijani National agency for
Mine Action (ANAMA), has said that it will take Azerbaijan about
10-15 years and require 400m dollars to clear mines in the occupied
territories which cover 350m-400m sq.m..

In an interview with the “Point of View” programme on the private
Azerbaijan TV station ANS on 18 April, Ismayilov said that the agency
is implementing a joint programme with the Azerbaijani Education
Ministry to raise public awareness of the issue.

Speaking about the territories which are under the Armenian occupation
he noted that 22m sq.m. of land in Azerbaijan have been cleared of
mines to date, at a cost of 13m dollars.

No further processing is planned.

OSKANIAN NOT PLANNING TO MEETING WITH MAMMADYAROV IN MOSCOW

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.04.2006 21:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The meeting of Armenian and Azeri Foreign
Ministers (FMs) within the CIS Council of FMs is not planned,
Armenian MFA Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. “Oskanian and Mammadyarov may meet, but we do not have any
information yet,” he remarked. To noted, the CIS Summit of FMs will
be held in Moscow April 21.

NUMBER OF PEOPLE ATTENDING CHARITY CANTEEN INCREASES IN GAVAR

Noyan Tapan
Apr 17 2006

GAVAR, APRIL 17, NOYAN TAPAN. It is about 2 years a charity canteen is
working in Gavar with the financing of the “Mission Armenia” benevolent
NGO. The canteen is intended for lone old people and pensioners
above 60. 120 needy people attend the canteen 5 days a week. Due to
abject poverty, young families also have expressed willingness to
attend the canteen. Though they are able-bodied, they have no job. To
recap, during the first months of canteen’s foundation the number of
people attending the canteen was not so big but it is increasing at
present. It is envisaged to continue the program in Gavar until 2013.

BAKU URGES BUDAPEST TO HAND OVER SAFAROV

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted April 17 2006

Baku, April 14, AssA-Irada
The Justice Ministry will file a motion with the Hungarian
ministry over handing over the Azerbaijani officer convicted to life
imprisonment after killing an Armenian serviceman during a NATO course
in Budapest, an official has said.

“No matter how serious the punishment may be, Hungary, a signatory to
the international convention on extradition, must ensure that Ramil
Safarov is sent back to Azerbaijan,” the chief of the ministry’s
department for international legal cooperation, Zavar Gafarov,
told journalists.

“The 1983 convention of the Council of Europe provides that a
convicted person must be allowed to serve his term in his home
country. Both Azerbaijan and Hungary have signed the convention. We
will take advantage of this provision of the convention and file such
a petition,” he said.

Protests at Hungarian sentence continue in Azeri towns

ANS TV, Baku
15 Apr 06

[Presenter Natavan Babayeva] Protest actions continue against the life
sentence by a Budapest court to Ramil Safarov accused of killing
Armenian officer Gurgen Markaryan [at a NATO course in Hungary].
Young people staged an unauthorized protest action outside State
University of Languages a short while ago. The protesters chanted:
“Down with injustice”, “Freedom to Ramil Safarov” and “Karabakh is
ours and will be ours”. They tried to march towards Azadliq Square
along Rasid Behbudov Street [central Baku]. Police stopped them and
detained five people.

The local branch of the Karabakh Liberation Organization, war veterans
and families of martyrs today staged a march and rally in Mingacevir
[central Azerbaijan] to protect the rights of Ramil Safarov. They
chanted “Freedom to Ramil Safarov” and demanded that the Budapest
court’s unfair verdict be cancelled. The rally also said that this was
not just the violation of Ramil Safarov’s rights, but that of war
veterans and families of martyrs. The march started at the town’s
Heydar Aliyev Avenue and ended at the Martyrs’ Avenue. The action
passed off without incidents.

A group of young people tried to stage a picket in the central square
in Ganca [northwestern Azerbaijan] with the same demands. Ten minutes
following the beginning of the action policemen arrived at the square
and dispersed the pickets. Two pickets were detained and taken to the
Nizami district police department. The ANS Ganca bureau reports that
Irada Agayeva and Elsan Mammadov were released after the two-hour
detention in the police department. The young people spoke about their
plans to continue protests against the verdict by the Budapest
court. The Ganca town police department said that the picket was
dispersed because it was unauthorized and the actions of this nature
will be thwarted in the future as well.

[Video showed protest actions]

Panorama.am

12:40 14/04/06

APPLICATION FORM AND QUALIFICATION EXAMINATION RULES
FOR ADVOCATES

On April 15, 2006, the RA Chamber of Advocates and its
Qualification Commission will hold a press conference
to release the Rules and application form* for the
upcoming qualification examination for licensing
advocates** which will be held in August-September
2006. The event will take place at Marriott Hotel,
Tigran Mets Hall, at 11:00 a.m. The purpose of the
press conference is to present to applicants, the
press and other attendees the Rules of the
Qualification Examination and the application package.
A power point presentation will highlight some of the
important features of the Qualification Examination,
including the deadlines for application and
examination processes. Among the speakers will be
President of the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia Ruben
Sahakyan, USAID Deputy Mission Director Karl
Fickenscher, Speaker of the National Assembly of
Armenia Artur Bagdasaryan, Chair of the Court of
Cassation of Armenia Hovaness Manukyan, Deputy
Prosecutor General of Armenia Gevorg Danielyan, Chair
of the Qualification Commission Yenok Azaryan, a
representative from the Ministry of Justice and
ABA/CEELI Liaison Erica Simpson. Ms Simpson will
briefly speak about the cooperation of ABA/CEELI with
the Chamber of Advocates and specifically on the
Qualification Examination.

* Applications packets will be available after the
Press Conference. ** The Qualification Examination for
Advocates will be supported by ABA/CEELI and sponsored
by USAID.

About ABA/CEELI
CEELI is a public service project of the American Bar
Association that advances the rule of law by
supporting the law reform process in Central and
Eastern Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East. Through
its programs, CEELI makes available American and
European legal expertise and technical assistance for
emerging democracies as they modify and restructure
their laws and legal systems.

8TH SITTING OF EU-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEE TO BE
HELD IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Members of the European Union-Armenia
Parliamentary Cooperation Committee will arrive in Yerevan on April
17, and the Secretariate’s sitting will be convened in Yerevan.
Members of the European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation
Committee will have meetings on April 18 with representatives of the
Open Society Institute, independent TV companies, with Ambassador
Vladimir Pryakhin, the OSCE Yerevan Office, with Heike Renate Peitsch,
the Ambassador of Germany to Armenia, the EU Council representative,
with the European Commission and EU Ambassadors. The 8th sitting of
the European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee will
start works in the Parliament on the second half of the day. Works of
the sitting will continue on April 19. Works of the committee will be
summed up by a press-conference. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the NA
Public Relations Department, on the same day the committee members
will have meetings with RA President Robert Kocharian, National
Assembly Speaker Artur Baghdasarian, Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian. Members of the
European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee will meet
with Ombudsman Armen Haroutiunian on April 20. The delegation will
visit the Armenian-Turkish border, the Nork orphanage and old-aged
pensioners’ house. The delegation members will leave Yerevan on April
21.