KARABAKH CHESS PLAYER WILL TAKE PART IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
KarabakhOpen
24-04-2007 13:01:43
Yesterday the juvenile chess tournament of Armenia ended. Artsakh
chess players also took part in the championship. We learned from
the NKR Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport that in age -10
Manuel Petrosyan took the first place and will take part in the world
juvenile championship. In age 14-16 Hovik Hairapetyan took the second
place and the right to take part in the European championship.
Azeri court sentences editor of independent newspapers to 2.5 years for libel
AP Worldstream
Published: Apr 20, 2007
An Azeri court convicted the editor of two independent newspapers
of libel Friday and sentenced him to 2 1/2 years in prison, court
officials said.
Opposition leaders called the ruling part of a government campaign
to silence critical media.
Eynulla Fatullayev, editor and founder of newspapers Real Azerbaijan
and Everyday Azerbaijan, was found guilty of disseminating false
information about a 1992 attack during the country’s six-year war
with Armenia.
The suit had been filed in a Baku district court by a member of a
refugee group who claimed that Fatullayev had said on a Web site that
Azerbaijanis were also to blame for the assault, a court spokesman
said.
Authorities say 613 Azerbaijanis were killed when Armenian forces
on Feb.
26, 1992, attacked the village of Khodzhaly, in the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian forces do not deny the attack, but say
the death toll is exaggerated.
"Eynulla Fatullayev said in court that he had never written that
Azeris were killed by Azeris," his lawyer Isaxan Asurov told The
Associated Press.
Asurov argued that his client had made no false statements, and that
he should not be prosecuted for libel as Internet discussions did
not amount to media publications.
The Opposition Party of National Independence of Azerbaijan condemned
the ruling, saying in a statement that it amounted to authorities
"pressuring, intimidating and persecuting independent media and
freedom of speech."
Last year, a court gave Fatullayev a two-year suspended sentence for
libeling a top law enforcement official.
The government of President Ilham Aliev, who took over from his
father in a 2003 election denounced by opponents as a sham, has faced
persistent criticism over the heavy-handed treatment of independent
media.
MOSCOW AGAIN DECLARED ABOUT ITS TOUGH STANCE ON KOSOVO
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.04.2007 17:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On April 19 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
in Belgrade confirmed Moscow’s negative attitude towards Ahtisaari’s
plan, characterizing it as "imposing" solution to the Kosovo problem.
According to the Russian FM, the Ahtisaari plan is quite
unacceptable. At the meeting with Serbian President Boris Tajic
S. Lavrov said it is necessary to continue talks on future status of
Kosovo, underlining the expediency to sent a special mission of UN
Security Council to the region. Members of the mission must examine the
domestic political situation of Kosovo on the spot and then to report
the results of their work in New York, FoNet. News agency reports.
LATVIA INTERESTED IN LARGER COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA – FOREIGN MINISTER
Arminfo
20 Apr 07
Yerevan, 20 April: The Armenian foreign minister and his Latvian
counterpart Artis Pabriks signed a memorandum of understanding between
the foreign ministries of Armenia and Latvia in Yerevan today.
Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks told a joint news conference
that the sides plan to initiate consultations and intensify the
dialogue soon. He also said that it would be very useful if the sides
could improve transport ties. "We will be working seriously on that,"
Pabriks said.
He said that after joining the European Union [EU], Latvia is supposed
to increase funds to be spent on cooperation with non-EU states. "We
would like to assess the possibility of closer cooperation with
Armenia. In brief, we are very interested in larger cooperation
with you – both regionally and internationally – and help you with
European integration and cooperation with the EU and NATO, as well
as with your neighbours. Thank you for a nice day," Pabriks said.
EU AGREES IT SHOULD BE A CRIME TO DENY THE HOLOCAUST
By Dan Bilefsky, International Herald Tribune
Boston Globe, MA
April 20 2007
But draft rapped as watered down
BRUSSELS — The European Union approved legislation yesterday that
would make denying the Holocaust punishable by jail sentences, but
would give countries across the 27-member bloc the option of not
enforcing the law if such a prohibition did not exist in their own laws
The draft law, which EU diplomats called a minimalist compromise,
gained approval after six years of emotional negotiations, during
which countries with vastly different legal cultures struggled to
reconcile the protection of freedom of speech with protection of
their citizens from racism and hate crimes.
The legislation calls for jail terms of as much as three years for
"intentional conduct" that incites violence or hatred against a
person’s "race, color, religion, descent, or national or ethnic
origin." The same punishment would apply to those who incite violence
by "denying or grossly trivializing crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity, and war crimes."
EU officials said that the law was notable for what it omitted.
Fearing that the legislation could be hijacked by groups trying to
right historical wrongs, a majority of EU countries rejected a demand
by the formerly communist Baltic countries that the law criminalize
the denial of atrocities committed by Stalin during Soviet times. As
a political gesture, however, Franco Frattini, the EU’s justice
commissioner, said the EU would organize public hearings on the
"horrible crimes" of the Stalin era in the coming months.
The scope of the law also does not cover other historical events,
like the massacre of Armenians during World War I by Ottoman Turks,
which Armenians call a genocide. Instead, the legislation recognized
only genocides that fall under the statutes of the International
Criminal Court in The Hague, like the mass killing of Jews during
World War II and the massacre in Rwanda in 1994.
There will be no Europe-wide ban on the use of Nazi symbols, one of
the original intentions of the law’s drafters, which gained force
two years ago after the release of photographs of Prince Harry of
Britain wearing a swastika armband at a costume party.
EU officials involved in the drafting of the law, which needed
unanimous approval, said consensus had been achieved by allowing
national laws to take precedence. Britain, Sweden, and Denmark,
which have particularly libertarian traditions, pressed for wording
that would avoid criminalizing debates about the Holocaust and
would ensure that films and plays about the Holocaust, like Roberto
Benigni’s award-winning "Life is Beautiful" and Mel Brooks’s musical
"The Producers," were not censored.
The legislation also states that individual countries’ constitutional
protections of freedom of speech would be upheld. The provision would,
for example, allow publishing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in
Denmark, where freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution.
Denmark and Britain also pressed successfully for a provision to
ensure that attacks on religions are covered only when they are of
a xenophobic or racist nature.
Anti racism groups said the law had been watered down to the point of
rendering it unenforceable . Michael Privot, spokesman for the European
Network Against Racism, said, for example, that a person publishing a
pamphlet denying the Holocaust could do so with impunity in Britain,
while still facing prosecution in France. "We have ended up with a
lowest common denominator law," he said.
Laws against denying the Holocaust exist in Austria, Belgium, France,
Germany, and Spain, and in many cases the national legislation goes
much further than the new EU rules. In a recent high-profile case,
the British historian David Irving spent 13 months in jail in Austria
for challenging the Holocaust before being released in December.
Two years ago, Luxembourg tried to use its EU presidency to push
through Europe-wide antiracism legislation, but it was blocked by
the center-right government then in power in Italy on the grounds
that it threatened freedom of speech. The proposed law was considered
too politically difficult to pass until it was taken up by Germany,
current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, which has called it
a historical obligation and a moral imperative.
Friso Roscam Abbing, spokesman for Frattini, the EU’s justice
commissioner, said it was inevitable that the bill was diluted, given
the need to reconcile so many different political and legal cultures.
But he added: "We still think it is useful and sends a strong political
signal that there is no safe haven in Europe for racism, anti-Semitism,
or Islam-phobia."
But Muslim leaders accused the EU of having double standards,
arguing that it protects established Christian religions and outlaws
anti-Semitism while doing nothing to defend Muslims against defamation.
LATVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARRIVES IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 19 2007
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. The Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks
is to arrive in Armenia today for an official visit.
The press service of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported that the
Latvian Foreign Minister is to meet with the Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin the Second,
Prime-Minister Serge Sargsian, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian and
Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosian.
The Latvian foreign Minister is to pay floral tribute to the memory
of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, visit the Genocide Museum
and plant a tree in the memorial alley.
EIGHT COOPERATION AGREEMENTS SIGNED BETWEEN ARMENIA AND EGYPT
Noyan Tapan
Apr 18 2007
YEREVAN, APRIL 18, NOYAN TAPAN. After the April 15 Cairo meeting of
RA President Robert Kocharian and Egypt Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif
in enlarged staff, eight cooperation agreements were signed. Those
are on cooperation and mutual agreement in the customs sphere, on
cooperation in criminal issues, on creating an Armenian-Egyptian
business council, between the Yerevan Medical University and Cairo
University, on cooperation between the Middle Eastern and Armenpress
information agencies as well as the practical program on cooperation
in the sphere of tourism between the RA and Egypt. Noyan Tapan was
informed about it by the RA President’s Press Office.
In R. Kocharian’s words, an agreement was got with the Egypt Prime
Ministter on taking more courageous steps for strengthening the
economic ties. In his words, it first of all relates to discussion
of the issue on establishing free economic trade regime. Both Egypt
and Armenia have such an experience, so in R. Kocharian’s opinion,
it can have a positive result. The sphere of information technologies
where there are also serious possibilities of cooperation is one of
primary development directions in both countries. Tourism is also a
long-lasting sphere for cooperation.
A1+
ARMENIAN TEAM DENIED ENTRY
[02:22 pm] 16 April, 2007
On April 16 the World Hockey Championship kicked off in Ireland. The
Armenian national ice hockey team was to participate in the C group
meetings of the current championship but our sportsmen were denied
visas in the Irish Embassy in Moscow.
Karen Khachatryan, President of the Armenian Hockey Federation finds
this a disgrace. `They deliberately denied us entry. I think there was
some preliminary arrangement between the embassy and the team of
Ireland. The Armenian team is stronger than that of Ireland. The Irish
secured their chances to participate in the next phase by this act.’
In Mr. Khachatryan’s words, the embassy presented unreasonable
grounds, `Armenia is a poor country, and the hockey players won’t
return to their homeland on arriving in Ireland. I want to remind that
the Armenian sportsmen have been to more developed countries but they
never wished to stay there for ever,’ says Mr. Khachatryan.
Presently, the International Hockey Federation deals with the matter
and Ireland will likely be punished for its infamous step.
MAY 12 VOTE: TOUCHSTONE FOR ARMENIAN DEMOCRACY
A1+
[08:08 pm] 13 April, 2007
The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia on May 12 will
be a crucial touchstone for the degree of maturity of democracy in
Armenia, concluded the four-member pre-election delegation of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) at the end of
a visit to Yerevan from 10 to 13 April 2007.
The delegation was heartened by the assurances of the Armenian
authorities, and all political stakeholders it met, that it is their
intention to hold elections that fully meet Council of Europe standards
for democratic elections. In this respect the delegation stresses
that it is the responsibility of all parties and stakeholders to
adhere to the rules that a genuinely democratic process demands.
The delegation took note of the improved election code, which has
generally passed the expert analysis of the Council of Europe’s Venice
Commission. The election code forms a sound basis for the conduct of
democratic elections if it is fully implemented in good faith.
The delegation welcomes the efforts by the authorities to create a
centralised voters’ list, in line with long-standing recommendations
by the Parliamentary Assembly. However, the delegation also notes the
concerns of several interlocutors that the accuracy of the voters’
lists still leaves a lot to be desired. It therefore calls upon the
authorities to continue, and if necessary step up, all efforts to
ensure the highest possible accuracy of the voters’ list on Election
Day. In this respect, the delegation regrets the reluctance by the
majority of the political players in Armenia to introduce the inking
of voters’ fingers, as advised by the Venice Commission, as a proven
mechanism to prevent multiple voting.
The delegation was concerned over its overall impression of a lack
of popular interest in the election process by the electorate. Such
attitudes of apathy, or even cynicism, are not conducive to the
development of democracy in Armenia. The delegation was not able,
with a few notable exceptions, to discern marked differences between
the political platforms of the contenders. It was left with the
impression that the upcoming elections are regarded by many as
a struggle between political elites and not between concepts and
ideas. In relation to this, the delegation is concerned that, in
a number of constituencies, only one candidate is running for the
majoritarian mandate, thereby not allowing the electorate in those
constituencies a fully democratic choice.
The delegation would like to stress that a level playing field in the
campaign, and full respect for the principles of freedom of expression
and assembly, are key conditions for democratic elections. It is
therefore concerned by the uneven conditions for the political players,
as highlighted by the media monitoring sponsored by the Council of
Europe. In this respect, the exhorbitant costs for paid political
advertising demanded by broadcasters are deeply regretted.
The fact that out-of-country voting has been abolished in the amended
election code is of concern to the delegation, as, in practice, it
will disenfranchise a sizeable part of the Armenian population that
is living abroad.
The delegation strongly condemns the recent attacks on the headquarters
of a political party in Armenia. It would like to reiterate its
position that violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic
society.
Electoral violations during past elections have never been
satisfactorily investigated and prosecuted. A climate of impunity
for electoral violations and election related violence can not be
allowed to exist in Armenia. The delegation therefore calls upon
the competent authorities to fully investigate any election-related
complaints that are brought to its attention and, where violations
are found, to provide redress and prosecute the violators to the
fullest extent of the law.
Lastly, the delegation calls on all political actors to use the
little time that is left before May 12 to ensure that the forthcoming
parliamentary elections are fully in line with Council of Europe
standards.
The pre-election delegation visited Yerevan from 10 to 13 April at the
invitation of the President of the National Assembly of Armenia. The
cross-party delegation was composed of Leo Platvoet (Netherlands,
UEL), Head of Delegation, Georges Colombier (France, EPP/CD), Ewald
Lindinger (Austria, SOC) and Bernard Marquet (Monaco, ALDE). During
its visit, the delegation met with the President of the Republic,
the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and the
Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs, the Chairman of the Central
Election Commission, a cross-section of political parties running in
these elections, members of the Constitutional Court and the Office
of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, as well as representatives
of the mass media and NGO communities.
10 SPORTSMEN TO REPRESENT ARMENIA IN EUROPE WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIP
Noyan Tapan
Apr 13 2007
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The Europe Weightlifting Championship
will start on April 16, in the city of Strasbourg, France.
Arsen Tamrazian (62 kg), Tigran Martirosian (69 kg), Ara Khachatrian
and Gevorg Davtian (both 77 kilograms), Rafik Chakhoyan (105 kg,
all of them from Gyumri), Ara Melkonian (85 kg, Yerevan) and Artur
Babayan (105 kg, Vanadzor) will represent Armenia.
Meline Daluzian (69 kg), Nazik Avdalian (75 kg, both of them from
Gyumri) and Hripsime Khurshudian (above 75 kg, Kasakh) will represent
Armenia in the ladies’ tournament.