Author: Karakhanian Suren

WHAT WILL COME OUT OF OPPOSITION’S EFFORT?
Lragir.am
26 May 06
There would be a political crisis in Armenia only if the National
Assembly gave a vote of no confidence to the government, said Gurgen
Arsenyan, the leader of the Unite Labor Faction on May 26 during the
parliamentary briefing. He told news reporters that a home political
force majeure would occur only in this case.
`There is no other measurement because there is the following. Today
there is a parliamentary majority, if we use the term. There is no
political `perhaps,’ there is no coalition `perhaps.’ Note that there
is a constructive or parliamentary majority. The parliamentary
majority is able to organize and carry out legislative activities. The
legislative body is productive and effective.’
If the parliament is not raising the question of a vote of no
confidence, there is no political crisis, thinks Gurgen Arsenyan. He
does not know whether the opposition will take this step or not,
however, Arsenyan says, the opposition may try. Let us see what will
come our of this, says the leaderof the ULP.

A320 BLACK BOXES SENT TO MOSCOW
Kommersant, Russia
May 25 2006
The second black box of the A320 jet that crashed on May 2 outside
Sochi was retrieved in the Black Sea yesterday. Experts of the
Interstate Aviation Committee are to start deciphering the data of the
recorders soon. However, the head of the committee, Tatyana Anodina
doubted that the data in the black boxes were kept intact.
Igor Levitin, Russian transportation minister and head of the committee
investigating the crash, Tatyana Anodina, head of the Interstate
Aviation Committee, and Armenian Ambassador to Russian Armen Sumbatian
went to Sochi yesterday to meet members of the search expedition. The
operation to retrieve the two flight recorders of the A320 lasted 20
days but finished with a success, as Igor Levitin said. The audio
recorder was found and retrieved on Monday. The parameter recorder
was located on Tuesday night and lifted from the Black Sea on early
Wednesday morning. The operation was complicated as the black boxes
were covered with a thick layer of sediments and experts first doubted
that they would manage to locate and hoist the recorders.
Chairperson of the Interstate Aviation Committee Tatyana Anodina
told the press that the audio recorder will be deciphered in Moscow,
contrary to earlier reports that the black boxes will be sent to
Airbus’ specialists in France. Ms. Anodina remarked that there are
chances that the data in the boxes was lost. “The parameter recorder
is intact, but the audio recorder may be in a bad state. The magnetic
film was damaged by the aggressive sea medium and mechanical effects,”
she said.
Experts hope to discover the cause of the crash with the help of the
data in the recorder. A participant of the operation supposed that
the plane probably crashed following the loss of aerodynamic qualities.

BLOODLESS WEAPON FOR THE CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
A1+
[08:55 pm] 25 May, 2006
“I see Armenia’s face in Haik. His work promotes the activity of
the country. Such books are proper and bloodless weapons,” said
the first Ombudsman Larisa Alaverdyan today in the hotel “Yerevan”
during Haik Demoyan’s monograph presentation titled “Turkey and the
Karabakh conflict.”
The book which is published in Russian is a historical comparative
analysis of 20-21 years. According to Haik Demoyan, the author of
the book, the monograph is an analysis of the Turkish position on
the Karabakh conflict and views the conflict in the framework of the
regional security and Armenian – Turkish relations.
The sources of the book are multiple. The author made use of Armenian,
Russian, English, French and Turkish sources and on their grounds
he revealed that Turkey had a negative impact on the conflict
peaceful settlement. Haik Demoyan noted, “Azerbaijan and Turkey had
an aggressive position towards NKR and Armenia regardless of many
international agreements and liabilities.’
The conclusions of the author are as follows; by the act of proclaiming
a country named “Aderbaijan” in 1918 Turkey paved a way for the
emergence of the Karabakh conflict, and now Turkey is one of the
conflict sides taking into account the policy of the country and not
a participant of the conflict.
The book was published with the financial support of the RA Defense
Ministry. Arthur Aghabekyan, deputy Defense Minister noted that
their cooperation has started long ago and added that the book will
be translated into Armenian as well.
By the way, Haik Demoyan is the author of 4 monographs and about 40
scientific articles.

“JUSTICE” FACTION BEGINS COLLECTING SIGNATURES FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP FOR STUDY OF SITUATION IN ARMENIAN AVIATION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 24 2006
YEREVAN, May 24. /ARKA/. “Justice” oppositional parliamentary faction
has begun collecting signatures for establishment of a working group
for study of the situation in the Armenian aviation and organization
of parliamentary hearings. According to the information provided by
the Secretary of “Justice” faction Viktor Dallakyan 20 signatures
form required 44 are already collected.
He said parliamentary opposition has not once offered to create
a working group for study of the situation in the Armenian civil
aviation; however proposals were continually rejected.
“In the present situation especially in the light of crash of the
A-320 Armenian liner near Sochi on May 3, opposition will insist
on formation of a working group and holding special parliamentary
hearings, presumably on June 12”, Dallakyan said.

Driver charged in school festival crash that injured 13
The Detroit News
May 24, 2006
By Joe Menard
SOUTHFIELD — The Troy man accused of plowing his minivan into a
festival crowd Sunday, injuring 13 people, has been charged with 28
felonies and could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Timothy Hall Buss, 34, was arraigned Wednesday morning in 46th
District Court and faces 13 counts of felony assault with the intent
to murder, 13 counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon, one
felony count of leaving the scene of an accident and one charge of
malicious destruction of property. His bond was set at $1.3
million. The penalties for the most serious charges range up to life
in prison.
Buss, dressed in blue jeans and an untucked red button-down shirt,
stood mute as Judge Susan M. Moiseev read the charges against him. He
requested a court-appointed attorney.
Police say nine children and four adults were injured when Buss’ 1994
Plymouth Grand Voyager drove into a crowd at around 2 p.m. Sunday at
an outdoor event at the Alex Manoogian School at St. John’s Armenian
Church.
One woman suffered a crushed pelvis and is still hospitalized, but
none of the injuries is believed to be life threatening. School
officials said five of the six students injured have returned to
school.
Buss’ preliminary exam conference has been set for 8:30 a.m. May 31,
and the preliminary exam is set for 9:30 a.m. June 2.
You can reach Joe Menard at (248) 647-7429 or [email protected].
pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060524/UPDATE/605240435

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
A DELEGATION OF AMERICAN CHURCHES VISITS ANTELIAS
His Holiness Aram I received a special delegation of American Churches in
his office in Antelias on May 19. The aim of the visit was to become closely
informed about the current situation in the Middle East and particularly the
challenges faced by Christianity.
His Holiness talked with detail about the current situation in the region,
talking in general about the dominant political situation and highlighting
concerns and projects related to the Christian presence and witness in the
Middle East.
The Pontiff stressed the following as priorities: giving a tangible
expression to the unity of the church, giving new impetus to the
Christian-Muslim dialogue, relationship and cooperation, reorganize the role
of Christianity through families, Sunday schools and everyday schools,
making the social service of the church reachable to the people through
effective methods, reemphasizing the role of the church in issues related to
human rights.
The Catholicos stressed the importance of cooperation with and support by
American churches in this context.
##
View the photo here: tm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

Police Look for Motive in Carnival Crash
WXYZ.com (Channel 7, ABC Affiliate in Detroit)
May 22, 2006
By Mary Conway, Web produced by Sarah Morgan
Monday, investigators were working to find out why a man plowed his
minivan into a crowd at a school carnival over the weekend. Nine
people were hurt in the bizarre accident.
Seven children and two adults were injured when a minivan drove
through a carnival set up between the Alex and Marie Manoogian Schools
and St. John’s Armenian Church in Southfield.
The children had broken bones and bruises, one woman underwent surgery
for a broken pelvis and another suffered two crushed ankles.
People at the school and church said they don’t know the suspect, so
they can’t imagine his motive.
High school Principal Hosep Torossian said, “We have never seen
him. We don’t know who he is. [We tried] to identify obviously his
license plate number and we called 911 and they were able to apprehend
him. He has absolutely no contact with the school community. We
basically don’t know who he is.”
Police arrested a 34-year-old man at his home in Troy shortly after
the accident.
School administrators believe the man drove through the crowd
deliberately.
Elementary school Principal Dyana Kezelian said, “The kids this
morning, we spoke about how we’re a safe school and they’re always
safe in the school and that these things happen and there’s all kinds
of people in this world that don’t listen and follow directions. They
were concerned that why would he drive through?”
The suspect may be arraigned as early as Tuesday and could be charged
with attempted murder.
rticle/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_4717857,00.html

RUSSIA: SOCHI MUSLIMS WITHOUT MOSQUE, CATHOLICS HOPE FOR CHAPEL
By Geraldine Fagan
Forum 18, Norway
May 18 2006
In the Black Sea town of Sochi, close to the Georgian border, the
authorities have persistently denied the Yasin Muslim community
permission to construct a mosque, Forum 18 News Service has learnt.
The community has been trying to find a suitable site for 10 years but,
“whenever I find somewhere, the [city] architectural department says
that it’s already sold, obstructed by pipes, or something else,”
Ravza Ramazanova, the organisation’s chair, told Forum 18. The
community’s roughly 70 worshippers currently use three cramped cellar
rooms – which Forum 18 has seen – to pray and study. Similarly, local
Catholic priest Fr Dariusz Jagodzinski hopes that Sochi’s bid to host
the Winter Olympics in 2014 will assist plans for the construction of
a Catholic chapel in the nearby town of Adler. This, he explained to
Forum 18, was how the Catholic church in Sochi was built from 1995-97:
“They were hoping to hold the Winter Olympics here in 2002.”
Forum 18 noted that the Russian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Baptists, Pentecostals, Jews and the New Apostolic Church
all have prominent houses of worship in the Sochi area.
The authorities in the Black Sea coastal town of Sochi, close to
the border with Georgia, have persistently denied the Yasin Muslim
community permission to construct a mosque, Forum 18 News Service has
learnt. Ravza Ramazanova, who chairs the organisation, showed Forum 18
the three cramped cellar rooms where its approximately 70 worshippers
are obliged to pray and study. “I’m so tired of writing letters –
whole files – it just drags on and on,” she told Forum 18 on 11 April,
adding that, although she has identified some 20 possible construction
sites over the ten years since her organisation was registered,
“whenever I find somewhere, the [city] architectural department says
that it’s already sold, obstructed by pipes, or something else.”
In one 2002 reply to Yasin, Krasnodar region’s Department for
Relations with Social Organisations explained that, in the absence
of an area in Sochi populated largely by those “oriented towards the
Muslim faith,” allocation of land must be accompanied by a survey
of public opinion in the area where the mosque would be situated
“so as to avoid conflict situations” (see F18News 7 December 2004
=470).
In fact, according to Ramazanova, there are positive community
relations in Sochi, with members of the local Tree of Friendship
nationalities society – “Estonians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Adygeis,
Armenians, Georgians, Greeks” – all supporting her campaign for a
mosque. While a prominent public figure – she showed Forum 18 numerous
photographs of herself with various local and national politicians,
including Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov and parliamentary speaker Boris
Gryzlov – Ramazanova said that even an appeal to the local authorities
on her behalf by Tatarstan president Mintimer Shaimiyev had failed
to yield any result.
Showing Forum 18 a copy of her latest – unanswered – 27 March 2006
letter to Sochi mayor Viktor Kolodyazhny, Ramazanova said that she
still retains some hope, however. “The town has got much cleaner
since he became mayor two years ago – I think he’ll get around to
us at some point.” The letter reminds Kolodyazhny that he promised,
at a 30 November 2005 Tree of Friendship meeting, to review the issue
of identifying a construction site for the Muslim community by the
end of the same year.
In the meantime, as Ramazanova complained to Forum 18, “all this stops
me from working – how are the young supposed to learn their religion,
to understand that God sees everything so they shouldn’t drink or
steal – without a mosque?” She pointed out that there is currently no
fitting place for Muslims in the area – Russia’s most popular holiday
destination – to come for naming or burial rites: “When the father of
a Tatar family here on holiday died, they had to come to this cellar!”
The telephone of Sochi administration’s press secretary Oksana
Velichkina went unanswered on 17 and 18 May, as did that of the city’s
department dealing with law enforcement agencies, religious and social
organisations, Cossacks and international affairs.
Similarly to Ravza Ramazanova, local Catholic priest Fr Dariusz
Jagodzinski is hoping that Sochi’s bid to host the Winter Olympics
in 2014 will assist plans for the construction of a chapel by his
80-strong parish of the Cappadocian Fathers in Adler, a town ten
minutes’ drive along the coast south of Sochi but coming under its
municipal authority. This, he explained to Forum 18 on 11 April,
was how the Catholic church of SS Apostles Thaddeus and Simon was
built in Sochi from 1995-97: “They were hoping to hold the Winter
Olympics here in 2002.” Currently, however, the Adler parish is
fighting court cases against ten different parties claiming to
have been promised the same 700-square-metre plot of land already
purchased by the Catholics for 25,000 US Dollars [675,750 Russian
Roubles, 153,000 Norwegian Kroner, or 19,550 Euros], said Fr Dariusz,
“but we have the official documents.”
According to Fr Dariusz, the Adler chapel – while apparently close
to Sochi – is sorely needed. He pointed out that some parishioners
currently spend all day travelling to and from Sunday Mass, and that
even the 100 Rouble [23 Norwegian Kroner, 3 Euros, or 4 US Dollars]
single fare to Sochi from nearby towns is too much for a household
where the monthly wage is 1,500 Roubles [340 Norwegian Kroner, 43
Euros, or 55 US Dollars].
Forum 18 noted that the Russian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Baptists, Pentecostals, Jews and the New Apostolic Church
all have prominent houses of worship in the Sochi area.

TWO DEPUTY MINISTERS OF “ORINATS YERKIR” DISCHARGED THEIR POSTS
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian’s
decree, Arayik Grigorian was dischared the post of the RA Deputy
Minister of Trade and Economic Development starting from May 15,
2006. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the RA Government’s Information
and Public Relations Department, by the Prime Minister’s another
decree, Artsruni Aghajanian was discharged the post of the RA Deputy
Minister of Labour and Social Issues.

RADIK MARTIROSIAN ELECTED PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Elections of the President of the
Armenian National Academy of Sciences were held on May 17 at the
Academy. Candidatures of Director of the Institute of Mechanics of RA
National Academy of Sciences, Academician Lenser Aghalovian, Director
of the Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics of RA National Academy
of Sciences, Academician Radik Martirosian, Academician-Secretary of
RA National Academy of Sciences Eduard Ghazarian were nominated for
this post. Radik Martirosian was elected the President of RA National
Academy of Sciences receiving 46 “for” and 27 “against” votes.
Eduard Ghazarian received 36 “for” and 37 “against” votes and Lenser
Aghalovian 35 “for” and 35 “against” votes.