Author: Khoyetsian Rose

ACCORDING TO RESULTS OF SURVEY CONDUCTED BY YOUTH PARTY OF ARMENIA, VAHRAM NERSISIANTS RECOGNIZED BEST STATESMAN OF YEAR
Noyan Tapan
June 05 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the results of the blitz
survey conducted by the Youth Party of Armenia, Vahram Nersisiants,
Chief Adviser to RA President on Economic Issues, was recognized
“The best statesman of the year.” Sargis Asatrian, Chairman of the
Youth Party of Armenia, informed about this at the June 5 press
conference. He gave V.Nersisiants a diploma and a bronze “Graal cup”
symbolizing the idea of firm and transparent economy. As S.Asatrian
said, the Armenian public, especially the youth, “has lack of
estimation of exemplary phenomena in the system of values.” According
to him, V.Nersisiants is given the prize not as a state representative,
but as a RA citizen. Vahram Nersisiants is one of the few officials
who holding a state post has no source of side income,” the Chairman of
the Youth Party of Armenia emphasized. According to Vahram Nersisiants,
a state official should have a modest way of life and should consider
the state work an enjoyment and it is businessmen that can have
business. He added that he is not the only one among the Armenian
officials who do not use state work for other purposes. “We have such
officials, though few, and their number will increase in the course
of time,” he emphasized. According to the Adviser to the President,
“in consequence of the policy of dictatorship our people has made
espionage, falsehood, deceit an implement of their existence, and
a change, a change of generations and development is necessary to
completely get rid of them. Though, now we have great progress as
compared with the neighboring countries and past 15 years.” In response
to the question, how he treats appreciation of dram and growth in
prices for goods, V.Nersisiants said that this is connected with
economic laws, supply and demand and especially import of a great
deal of dollars and other currencies from abroad. “This results in
fluctuations, which is corrected by CBA as far as possible.”

METROPOLITAN KLIMENT CONSIDERS THAT “MUCH IS DONE FOR PRESERVING CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL VALUES IN AZERBAIJAN”
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
June 05 2006
MOSCOW, JUNE 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The other day the
Press Service of Moscow Patriarchate spread a press release about
the meeting of Manager of the Patriarchate, Metropolitan of Kaluga
and Borovsko Kliment with Azerbaijani Ambassador Polad Byulbyuloghli,
during which, according to the Press Service, it was mentioned that
“today much is done both in Russia and in Azerbaijan for preserving
cultural and spiritual values.” The Press Service does not mention,
whether at the meeting it was spoken about the khachkars (cross-stones)
destroyed in Nakhichevan. Whereas, the Yerkramas (Territory) newspaper
of Armenians of Russia reminds that the sitting of the Commission of
Public Chamber of RF on Issues of Cultural and Spiritual Heritage
presided over by Metropolitan Kliment was held on May 17 2006,
during which the issue “on application of the participants of Moscow
roundtable” “Armenian Cultural Monuments of Nakhichevan – Subject of
Vandalism of Azerbaijan” was considered. The Commission of Public
Chamber unanimously condemned the act of vandalism in Azerbaijan
towards monuments of Armenian spiritual culture in Old Jugha, as
well as expressed intention to jointly with the Chamber’s interested
commissions on issues of tolerance and liberty of conscience, culture,
globalization and national strategy of development, international
cooperation and public diplomacy study the state and Azerbaijan’s
preserving the cultural and spiritual heritage of other peoples,
which is the property of the world civilization.
Metropolitan Kliment also spoke during the exchange of opinions. He
declared that the destroyed Armenian historic and cultural monuments
were the property of the whole world civilization, their destruction
was an irreplaceable loss for the world cultural and historic heritage.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH SEIZED CHANCE AT SELF-DETERMINATION — KOCHARIAN
Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
June 5, 2006 Monday 6:30 PM MSK
Armenian President Robert Kocharian believes that Nagorno-Karabakh
has virtually realized its right to self-determination.
“The people of Nagorno-Karabakh have realized in practice their
right to self-determination in full conformity with international
norms,” Kocharian said in his speech at the Black Sea summit forum
“For Dialogue and Partnership in Bucharest, the presidential press
service told Interfax on Monday.
“For 15 years, the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has been asserting its
right to independence by its own achievements in building statehood,”
the Armenian president said, adding that a whole generation of
Nagorno-Karabakh residents associated themselves with this statehood.
He called for efforts to promote Karabakh’s integration into the
international community.
Armenian and Azeri Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev met
in Bucharest on June 4 to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
The first part of their meeting, also attended by the Armenian and
Azeri foreign ministers and international mediators from Russia,
France and the United States, lasted about an hour, Armenian Public
Television reported later in the day.
After that, Kocharian and Aliyev talked in private for three hours.
They refused to comment on the results of the talk.

OSCE MISSION HELD RECURRING MONITORING OF THE CONTACT LINE
ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 14:40
According to a preliminary agreement with Nagorno-Karabakh authorities,
on June 6 the OSCE Mission carried out the recurrent monitoring of
the contact line of Armed Forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan
to the east from Seysulan settlement in Martakert region.
NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that from the positions of
NKR Defense Army the monitoring was carried out by Field Assistants of
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Peter Kee
(Great Britain) and Irzhi Aberle (Czech Republic). The monitoring was
held according to the preset schedule, no breaches of the cease-fire
regime were registered. From the Karabakh side the observation mission
was accompanied by representatives of Ministries of Foreign Affairs
and Defense.

CHESS TEAM OF ARMENIA ACHIEVES THE OLYMPIC GOLD
ArmRadio.am
05.06.2006 10:24
Men’s chess team of Armenia achieved gold medals at the 37th World
Olympic Games in Turin. In the last decisive game Armenians played
a draw with the Hungariam team. This was just enough to achieve the
desirable Olympic gold. Our team showed a wonderful result in Turin. It
was the only one to have no defeats in the tournament, registering 10
victories and 3 draws. Our rival in the last round was the Hungarian
team, which was occupying the 5th place with 30.5 points. The last
game was entrusted to Levon Aronyan, Vladimir Hakobyan, Karen Asryan
and Gabriel Sargsyan, who fully realized the trust, registering the
recurrent chess achievement of Armenia.
We congratulate al the chess players and all our compatriots on the
occasion of this great victory.

A DISAPPOINTING FINISH FOR INDIA
The Statesman, India
June 5 2006
Press Trust of India
TURIN (Italy), June 4: India had a disappointing finish at the 37th
Chess Olympiad here with the women’s team bagging the 12th spot and
the men managing to get the 30th place after the concluding round of
the meet.
Indian men yet again failed to make the most of the situation and
managed a minimal 2.5-1.5 victory over Italy B in the 13th and
final round.
Armenia attested their supremacy in the event with a quick draw on
all four boards against Hungary and won the gold medal with a huge
score of 36 points out of a possible 52. The silver medal went to
China who came with yet another fine performance in the final round
game to beat the Netherlands by a 2.5-1.5 margin. The Chinese men
finished with 34 points.
In an amazing turn of events, pre-Olympiad favourite and top seed
Russia were thrown out of medal contention after they lost their
final round game against Israel by a 1-3 margin. It paved the way
for the United States men who beat Norway 3.5-0.5 to join Israel in
the third spot on 33 points, and after the tie-break was resolved the
USA got the bronze. Behind Israel, Hungary finished fifth overall on
32.5 points while Russia ended in sixth place. Indian men who had
been given the second billing here behind Russia finished 30th on
29.5 points after the final list was announced.
In women’s section, the Ukraine won the gold after taking a draw with
Armenian eves. The Ukraine ended with 29.5 points out of a possible
39 and won the gold with a 1.5 point lead over Russia, who defeated
Indian eves in the final round 2-1. Indian eves, seeded ninth, had a
better finish than their male counterparts and tallied 23 points to
finish in 12th place. The Chinese women, the defending champions,
had to be content with the bronze this time. In the final round,
China drew with Belarus and ended on 27.5 points overall.
For Indian men, the final round also did not bring any good news as
national champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly was outdone on the third board
by unknown Sabino Brunello of the Italy B team. In fact, the Indian
opposition did not have a single International Master against four
Indian GMs and it was again a tragedy of errors that failed to propel
the team to a better finish. Viswanathan Anand was expectedly rested
and Krishnan Sasikiran won his game against Niccolo Ronchetti after
former world junior champion P Harikrishna gave the team an early lead
defeating Daniele Vocaturo. However, Ganguly’s loss combined with a
draw by Sandipan Chanda against Denis Rombaldoni on the fourth board
could yield only a minimal victory.
Meanwhile, Mr Bharat Singh Chauhan, treasurer of the All India Chess
Federation, was unanimously elected as president of Fide’s Asian Zone
3.2 here. Zone 3.2 comprises of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka.

PanARMENIAN.Net
PACE Delegation Lad by Leo Platvoet to Arrive in
Armenia

02.06.2006 15:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ PACE delegation led by Leo Platvoet
will arrive in Armenia June 4, RA NA Speaker, head of
the Armenian delegation to PACE Tigran Torosian told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, the purpose of
the visit is to prepare a regional report on missing
and refugees. The delegation members are scheduled to
meet with the committee on missing at the Armenian
parliament. They are also expected to visit Georgia
and Azerbaijan,’ Torosian said.

PanARMENIAN.Net
Unrecognized Republics Have Right to
Self-Determination, Russian MFA Says
02.06.2006 18:08 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian press described the RF MFA’s statement as a
`diplomatic sensation’ and `recognition of separatist regimes.’
Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin announced that
the unrecognized republics in the post soviet space have the right to
self-determination. `We treat the principle of territorial integrity
with respect. But as regards Georgia, this integrity is rather a
possible condition than political and legal reality. The initial
South Ossetian position bases on another principle recognized by the
international community – the right to self-determination,’ he stated.
Kommesant daily thinks that with this statement Moscow reacted to the
West’s demands to withdraw Russian troops from Moldavia and
Georgia. This means that the concept of Moscow’s foreign policy
towards the post soviet space has radically changed. In order to
maintains its influence in the pro-western segments of the CIS Russia
is ready to recognize the separatist regimes in Transdnistria,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia,’ the newspaper writes.
`Separatists of all kinds have the right to independence,’ the
Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. It compared the situation in the
Transcaucasus with the situation in Balkans and recollects the recent
referendum in Montenegro and Kosovo’s aspirations for independence.
Kamynin’s statement gained a due impression. The unrecognized
republics hurried to welcome it. Georgia is preparing a tough answer
and says Russia is likely to provoke `a parade of sovereignties’ on
its own territory. No doubt, the position of the Russian Foreign
Ministry will be rated as equivocal by the United States and Europe,’
Nezavisimaya Gazeta says foretelling tension of relations with Georgia
and reproaches from Washington addressed to Moscow over the
`incorrect’ policy pursued in the post soviet space.
`Kamynin’s statement is the first case when Russia questioned
Georgia’s territorial integrity,’ head of the Russian Institute of
National Studies Alexander Skakov said. This statement most likely
shows that Russia considers the potential of further talks with
Georgia exhausted, the expert supposes. In the opinion of observers,
the diplomats attempted to `provoke Georgia’, but one should not
expect direct collision between Moscow and Tbilisi – this is not in
interests of both states, reported the BBC Russian office.

Armenian leader not to sign peace deal with Azerbaijan – paper
Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
3 Jun 06
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan cannot sign the peace agreement
proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group because it suggests conditions that
cannot be compared even with the approaches proposed in 1997 by
Armenia’s former president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the Armenian
newspaper Aykakan Zhamanak has said.
The option currently proposed by the OSCE mediators is much more
disadvantageous to Armenia, the paper said. By signing this agreement,
Kocharyan will admit that predictions made by former President Levon
Ter-Petrosyan are now coming true and that “the regime change in 1998
was an ordinary coup”, the paper said.
It went on to say that Kocharyan’s only task at the moment is to
remain in power until his tenure expires in 2008.
In another article on Kocharyan’s forthcoming talks with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in Bucharest, Aykakan Zhamanak said that
Kocharyan will not sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan because he
does not have public support. “He does not know what public support is
because in the eight years of his presidency, he has had everything
but public support,” the newspaper said. He would probably have the
courage to sign an agreement if he was motivated to do so, it
said. Aykakan Zhamanak stressed that Kocharyan could be motivated to
sign an agreement if it confirmed Karabakh’s independence or if the
United States and the international community promised that after
signing the agreement, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan would
have confidence during the entire period of their rule. However, these
promises are absolutely worthless because Kocharyan might be deceived
in the end, Aykakan Zhamanak said.
At the same time, he needs titanic courage to refuse to sign the
agreement, the newspaper said.
For this reason, Kocharyan should be cunning and hold the talks in a
way that will not bring about the signing of any document, and at the
same time, make sure that no-one blames him for that, Aykakan Zhamanak
said.

AKHALKALAK SAKREBULO DEMANDS THAT POWER STRUCTURES QUICKLY DISCLOSE
AND PUNISH THOSE SPREADING ANTI-ARMENIAN LEAFLETS

AKHALKALAK, JUNE 2, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The issue of
spreading anti-Armenian leaflets in Akhalkalak by an unknown
organization calling itself “Brigade of Akhaltskha Liberation” was
discussed by Akhalkalak regional Sakrebulo on May 31, at the
suggestion of Norik Karapetian, sakrebulo member, Chairman of the
Javakhk People’s Movement organization. According to the A-Info
agency, the sakrebulo has decided to apply to the Georgian power
structures for them to as quickly as possible disclose and call to
account those making an attempt to intimidate the Armenian population
of Javakhk.