Author: Nahapetian Zhanna

Azeri, Armenian presidents invited to NATO PA session

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 5 2006

Baku, May 4, AssA-Irada — 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, the Radio Liberty reported.

Lelouche said NATO backs peace in the South Caucasus. The alliance
believes it is therefore 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 how hard it is for both peoples. I
am aware of the problems faced by refugees in Azerbaijan and regret
their plight.”

Touching upon NATO-Azerbaijan relations, Lelouche said the issue
should be considered if Azerbaijan is willing to be admitted to NATO.

The country is an associate member of the Assembly and bilateral
cooperation is on a high level, the PA president added.*

MONUMENT TO AIR CRASH VICTIMS TO BE ERECTED NEAR ARMENIAN CHURCH

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.05.2006 14:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Sochi Mayor Victor Kolodyazhny has determined the
place of establishment of a monument to victims of the air crash
of A-320 airbus. “The memorial will be established in a square
next to the Armenian church in Adler,” he reported. The Armenian
church is situated in the center of Adler, not far from the regional
administration and an Orthodox church. The memorial will be set at
the instance of families of the victims. Krasnodar Territory Governor
Alexander Tkachov supported the proposal.

ARMAVIA OBTAINS PLANES

Lragir.am
06 May 06

Armavia, the national airlines of Armenia, is likely to increase
its plane pool, having lost two of its A320 aircrafts in the passing
week. One of the planes crashed May 3 near Sochi, the other burned
in Belgium the next day. Next week Armavia is likely to lease an
A319, produced in 1994 or in 1995. This was reported by Gazeta.ru,
referring to the press service of Armavia. The same source reports
that the company will get two more airbuses later. Before losing the
two planes Armavia had 5 airbuses, an IL86, two YAK42 and one YAK40.

“ARMAVIA” SUFFERED THE LEAST?

A1+
[02:35 pm] 05 May, 2006

There is an unwritten law in the aviation sphere: “Aviation laws are
written in blood”. After each crash the laws and rules concerning
the sphere are improved.

The crash of the airplane flying from Yerevan to Sochi will give
the specialists another occasion to think if everything was done to
maximally guarantee the security of the passengers.

But there is not a single aviation company in the world which will
confess that it did not do everything possible for maximum security. It
is noteworthy that if the aviation company is able to prove in
court that they did everything possible, but it was impossible to
prevent the crash, the company will be able to avoid making insurance
payments. Nevertheless, nothing of the kind has ever happened. One
of the reasons is that any judge is also a potential passenger.

Going back to the May 3 air crash, let us first speak about who
suffered most, naturally leaving aside human casualties which are
irreparable and immeasurable. It is noteworthy that the greatest
financial loss is inflicted to the re-insurance companies. In this case
these are British companies. The aviation company suffers the least as
they will be compensated according to the rules of airplane insurance,
although there is also a non-compensated sum: about 100 thousand USD.

Let us remind you that the airbus was bought in February 2004 by
leasing, for 25 million USD. And as it was insured, the insurance
companies must compensate the total sum of 25 million minus the
above mentioned 100 thousand USD which is the loss of the aviation
company. It should also be mentioned that the aviation company from
time to time makes payments to the insurance companies.

By the way, the insurance sums for the lives of the passengers are paid
again by the re-insurance companies. In this case, the 20 thousand
USD to each family is paid to by “Grand” insurance company, but by
the British organizations. This is why the company avoids speaking
about specific sums and dates as it can be a long process.

According to the specialists of the field, first the investigation of
the criminal case must be concluded, then the British specialists must
examine all the documents in order to assess the case as an “insurance
case”, after which they will make a decision about compensation. Only
after that will the process of compensation start which in itself will
be quite long, as there is not one re-insurance company but several.

“Financially this is not an insoluble question, but it is rather
difficult to solve from the organizational and administrative points of
view”, said on of the specialists of the field who refused to introduce
himself. “It has nothing to do with Armenia. The process lasts long in
the whole world”. Let us remind you that after the terrorist acts in
New York the insurance companies announced that the process can last up
to 20 years. As for the Armenian insurance companies, “Grand” in this
case, it has to do the most thankful business: to get the money and
to give it to people, forming positive image for the insurance field.

And still, the most important question is that why the sides
try to insist on the weather factor. Perhaps it is done to avoid
responsibility. If it turns out that the reason was not the weather
but carelessness, it will be necessary to find out whose carelessness
it was. If it turns out that the reason was technical malfunction of
the plane, the re-insurance companies can raise the insurance tariffs
as the aviation company was unable to provide necessary technical
criteria b previous tariffs. In the worst case a criminal case can
be initiated against the aviation company.

At present while the investigation process is under way and the
weather factor is the main hypothesis, we can state that the loss of
“Armavia” is mainly moral, plus the factor of damaged image with
partial financial losses proceeding from them.

P.S. There are several cases when the insurance companies can
refuse to pay. According to one of them the insurance company is not
responsible for the crash if the plane was overloaded with luggage
or with passengers. That’s why during the investigation process the
insurance companies will probably be extremely careful.

CONTEST FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM TO BE ANNOUNCED IN 20 DAYS

Panorama.am
18:07 04/05/06

By the decision of the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan,
a contest committee is established for the selection of the text
and music of the national anthem of the Republic of Armenia, headed
by the Armenian Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs. A number of
prominent state and cultural figures are included in the committee.

According to government press services, the committee is assigned
to develop the standards for selection and the contest conditions
in 15-days time. It is also responsible to select the text and the
music in 2-months period.

The government decided today to set a prize of 700,000 dram for
the text and the music of the national anthem. 2 mln drams are
appropriated from the government reserve fund in order to ensure
information dissemination and other contest related issues, including
remuneration to the author of the anthem.

According to government press service, the decision was conditioned
by the changes made in the Armenian constitution.

MOURNING DAYS IN ARMENIA AND RUSSIA

A1+
[12:00 pm] 05 May, 2006

Today in Armenia and Russia the state flags will be lowered in memory
of the victims of the May 3 aircrash.

May 5 in Russia and May 5 and 6 in Armenia are officially declared
mourning days. The record boxes of the plane A-320 which belonged
to “Armavia” have not yet been found. As a result of the crash 105
passengers and the 8-person crew of the plane perished.

By now only 53 bodies have been found 41 of which have been
recognized. 26 bodies have been transported to Armenia already. The
searches for new bodies and the record boxes are going on.

RUSSIA: SEARCH GOES ON AT PLANE CRASH SITE AS FRENCH EXPERTS ARRIVE IN SOCHI

Channel One TV, Moscow
4 May 06

[Presenter] The active phase of the operation on the A320 crash
site [in the Black Sea] has begun. The search was in progress even
throughout the night. The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s vessels
specially equipped for working in dark hours went out to sea to collect
from the water surface all fragments of the plane and the bodies of
the passengers. Our correspondent Roman Melnik has the details.

[Correspondent] A depth of 500 m. is out of divers’ access. There
is complete darkness there and a terrible pressure of 50 atm. Only
submersibles can shed light on the crash site.

[Igor Levitin, captioned as Transport Minister] Submersibles have
already arrived. They are being prepared for working in the search
area.

[Correspondent] The main task of those who are working at sea is to
locate flight recorders from the crashed plane. First, rescue workers
pinned their hopes on lifting the plane’s tail section. However,
these hopes were never justified – the black boxes have not been
found so far. The flight recorders are fitted out with radio beacons
which can facilitate the search. Airbus experts have already arrived
in Sochi from France to help carry out the search. Fragments of the
aircraft covering, which have risen to the surface with an oil slick
that appeared after the crash, are drifting to the north towards
Tuapse and Novorossiysk. [Passage omitted: technical details]

[Levitin] The weather forecast leads us to hope that we will be able
to use helicopters and the equipment that we have failed to use so far.

[Correspondent] The work with relatives of the crashed plane’s
passengers is under way. The Moskva hotel has become the centre of
people’s grief. Investigators from a prosecutor’s office are working
with the relatives gathering information necessary for initial
identification. Also, psychologists are helping these people, trying
not to leave them alone in this tragedy.

[Armen Smbatyan, Armenian ambassador to Russia] I have felt that
state brotherly support does exist in the world. What we saw here
is very precious. I am very grateful to the Russian authorities
and all organizations who carry out the coordination here. This is
real support.

[Correspondent] The tragedy has brought over 300 people to
Sochi. No-one of the plane’s 113 passengers has survived. There are 49
bodies in the city morgue. The identification procedure is to resume
this morning.

There is no comment from the operational headquarters on the causes of
the crash as there is too little information. After the prosecutor’s
office has denied the theory of a terrorist attack, there remain
three main theories: weather conditions, equipment malfunctions and
the human factor, i. e. the crew’s mistake.

Armenia Tree Project
57/5 Arshakunyats Street
Yerevan, Armenia 0026
Tel: (37410) 44 74 01
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Press Release
April 28, 2006

US Ambassador John Evans and ATP Celebrate Earth Day

YEREVAN — On April 21, US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans and
Mrs. Donna Evans marked Earth Day and Arbor Day in a ceremonial tree
planting initiated by Armenia Tree Project (ATP). Ambassador Evans
and honored guests planted evergreens on a specially prepared plot
at ATP’s nursery in the refugee village of Karin.

In cooperation with the US Embassy, invited high ranking authorities,
and a number of international and local organizations, this event
coincided with worldwide environmental celebrations and was organized
to raise broader public awareness of ecological issues in Armenia. The
date of the ceremony was chosen in observance of the traditional Earth
Day and Arbor Day festivities, marked globally on April 21 and April
29, respectively.

Special guests in attendance included Minster of Nature Protection
Vardan Ayvazyan and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Samvel Galstyan. The
ceremonial tree planting was preceded by welcoming remarks from
Ambassador Evans and ATP Director of Operations Vache Kirakosyan. A
reception followed in ATP’s Michael and Virginia Ohanian Environmental
Education Center.

Ambassador Evans expressed his heartfelt gratitude to ATP for
organizing the celebration and added that, “Planting another seedling
on Armenian land is a great pleasure.” While touring the nursery,
the US Ambassador was impressed by the condition of nursery and the
work ATP has been able to do in Armenia.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Samvel Galstyan, also stressed the
significant role played by ATP: “Armenia Tree Project is reforesting
Armenia, and their mission is extremely important. Such an initiative
not only restores Armenia’s greenery, but helps to solve other
interrelated ecological problems and diminish pollution, which is
necessary for keeping our environment clean.”

In his remarks, the Minster of Nature Protection did not expect
the increase in the price of natural gas to result in additional
tree cutting, since Armenia is developing alternative sources of
renewable energy. “This will not lead us to mass tree cutting as
before,” stated Minster Ayvazyan. “There are real possibilities for
using renewable energy, and Armenia has several alternative sources
which can produce enough energy.”

ATP was founded in 1994 with the vision of securing Armenia’s future
by protecting its environment and restoring its degraded forests. ATP
advances Armenia’s socio-economic development by mobilizing resources
for large-scale reforestation, community-based tree planting,
environmental education and advocacy, and rural development through
job creation. With the establishment of the Mirak Family reforestation
nursery and expansion of the backyard nursery program in the Getik
River Valley, ATP is working toward the goal of planting over one
million trees in 2006.

PHOTO CAPTION: US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans (center) with ATP
Director of Operations Vache Kirakosyan (right) during the ceremonial
tree planting in observance of Earth Day and Arbor Day

ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES VIOLATED CEASEFIRE 65 TIMES WITHIN APRIL MONTH, AZERBAIJANI ARMED FORCES’ ONE SOLDIER KILLED, 2 WOUNDED

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 1 2006

Within April month, Armenian Armed Forces have violated ceasefire in
several directions 65 times. According to the monitoring conducted
by APA, Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ one soldier killed, 2 wounded.

The ceasefire violation in intensive form was observed in the last
10 days pf April, and this was linked with marking “alleged Armenian
genocide”. Ceasefire has been violated more in Aghdam front line
within April month (29). Ceasefire has been violated 26 times in
Gazakh, in Terter 3, in Gadabey 2, in Tovuz and in Fuzuli 2 times.

Azerbaijan Armed Forces one military was killed by enemy (in Fuzuli),
4 persons died because of careless conduct with the weapon. Death
cases have been registered– one in Fuzuli, 2 in Aghdam, one in
Mingechevir, one in military unit in Lenkeran. Last month OSCE has
conducted monitoring in the frontline. Though incident happened
during monitoring in Mazam village direction of Gazakh region, no
violation has been registered in monitoring conducted in Gulustan
village of Geranboy.

It should be noted that, 140 facts have been registered since the
beginning of the year with regard to ceasefire violation. According to
the monitoring results, thee most ceasefire was observed in April month
but less in January month. Azerbaijani Army positions and residential
areas were subjected to Armenian Armed Forces ceasefire violation by
10, in February 14 and in March month 50 times.

The “hot lines” of the front was the following areas: Ýn Azerbaijani
state frontier- on Gazakh region – Mazamli, Gizilhajili, Balajafarli
and Baganis Ayrim villages; On Terter region: Hasangaya, Chayli;
Jerabert; Gapanli villages; On Aghdam region: Bash Garvand, Orta
Gishlag, Gulchuluk state farm villages; On Fizuli region: Ashagi
Seyidahmadli and Ashagi Abdurrahmanli villages.

It should be noted that Azerbaijani Armed Forecs have lost 23
militaries by May 1 of the current year. 4 of them were killed in
fire, 4 in careless conduct with the weapon, 5 in traffic accident,
1 suicide, 2 snow slide, 7 were kiled by Armenians.

In general, Azerbaijan Armed Forces have lost 11 militaries in January,
2 in February, 5 in March, 5 in April. All of the died are militaries
serving in armed forces units at Ministry of Defense.

–Boundary_(ID_xjjQS7bJ3qPHuzF2Wkvg0A)–

The New Anatolian, Turkey
April 29 2006

Armenian lobby blasts Bush over refusal to say ‘genocide’

The Armenian diaspora in the U.S. is criticizing President W. Bush
for not using the term “genocide” during his speech Monday to
commemorate the controversial events of 1915.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) accused Bush of not
keeping his promises to Armenians on April 24, the date they claim as
the commemoration of the genocide claims, in a written statement
Thursday.

“Despite the request of more than 200 U.S. Congress members for Bush
to morally clarify the issue through his statement on April 24, the
president didn’t keep his promise and declined to define the event as
the Armenian ‘genocide’,” ANCA said.

The Armenian Assembly of America (AAA), another prominent Armenian
association in the U.S., also criticized his statements, saying,
“We’re deeply disappointed because the act which aimed at
annihilating Armenians wasn’t described as ‘genocide.'”

More than 20 Congress members participated in a ceremony to
commemorate the Armenian claims of genocide held at the Congress on
Thursday and the participants accused Turkey of “denial.”

During his annual speech to mark April 24, following both his own
practice and that of past presidents, Bush didn’t use the term
“genocide,” but said instead, “Today we’re remembering one of the
horrible tragedies of the 20th century.” Describing the controversial
events as a “tragedy” for all humanity and one “that we and the world
must never forget,” Bush said, “We mourn this terrible chapter in
history and recognize that it remains a source of pain for people in
Armenia and for all those who believe in freedom, tolerance, and the
dignity and value of every human life. It’s a credit to the human
spirit and the generations of Armenians who live in Armenia, the U.S.
and around the globe that they’ve overcome this suffering and proudly
preserved their centuries-old culture, traditions, and religion.”

Bush also called on Turks and Armenians to forge a dialogue in order
to normalize their relations.

The Armenian diaspora accuses the Ottoman Empire of deliberately
massacring up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919. Turkey
stresses that these figures are inflated and says that far fewer
Armenians died, due to civil unrest under the conditions of World War
I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey also claims that
during the ethnic conflict, thousands of Turks were also killed by
Armenian militants.

Ankara and Yerevan are at odds over the Armenian claims of genocide.
To break the deadlock, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
last year suggested the establishment of a committee of Turkish and
Armenian historians to study the claims, in a letter sent to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian. But Kocharian refused Erdogan’s proposal,
saying that the two countries must first establish diplomatic
relations and that committees could be formed only within the process
of normalization of relations.