Turkey’s Refusal To Recognize Armenian Genocide Causes Controversy I

TURKEY’S REFUSAL TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CAUSES CONTROVERSY IN TURKEY’S RELATIONS WITH U.S.

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 4 2007

In a sign of the growing isolation faced by opponents of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution, the U.S Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF) – a governmental body formed by Congress – has
reported that Turkey’s continued refusal to recognize the Armenian
Genocide remains a source of controversy in Turkey’s relations with
the United States, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).

The Commission communicated its views on this subject as a part of the
annual report it submitted last week to Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice on religious freedom around the world.

"We are gratified both by the Commission’s clear recognition of
the Armenian Genocide as well as by the fact that its members have
addressed the ongoing costs associated with Turkey’s denial of this
crime against humanity," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

"We also appreciate the Commission’s documentation of the Hrant Dink
assassination and other forms of violence and official intimidation
inflicted by the Turkish government against Armenians and other
Christian communities", he added.

To note, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was
created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor
the status of freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief
abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
related international instruments, and to give independent policy
recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Congress. It is a government entity created by Congress and funded
entirely by the federal government. Its staff members are government
employees. The White House and Congressional leadership appoint the
Commissioners.

The specific text dealing with Turkey’s denials reads as follows:
"During the Commission’s visit, the issue of the Armenian genocide
was not raised by any interlocutors, but the continued refusal of the
Turkish government to recognize the event continues to be a source
of controversy in Turkey’s relations with other western countries,
including the United States."

The report also devoted considerable attention to the brutal murder
of Armenian Journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed in Istanbul after
being prosecuted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for
speaking openly about the Armenian Genocide.

UN Has The Right To Examine GUAM’s Resolution As Long As It Consider

UN HAS THE RIGHT TO EXAMINE GUAM’S RESOLUTION AS LONG AS IT CONSIDERS NECESSARY

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.05.2007 16:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The UN is a structure, which has the right to examine
an issue that has been included in its agenda as long as it considers
necessary, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Veselovski stated
to journalist in Baku on Friday speaking about GUAM’s resolution on
"frozen conflicts".

The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister said examination of the
resolution is not the goal in itself. "Our task is to create such an
atmosphere, under which countries involved in these or those conflicts
or problems would feel that they are not supported by the majority and
that they are mistaken and should review their stances. It is necessary
to understand how we can return to a position, which would satisfy all
sides and not only one party," the diplomat stated, "Trend" reports.

Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova initiated discussions over
"frozen conflicts" on the territory of "Organization for Democracy
and Economic Development – GUAM" member-states. The issue was included
in the UN agenda.

A Year Passed After Aircrash

A YEAR PASSED AFTER AIRCRASH

A1+
[01:23 pm] 03 May, 2007

On May 3, 2006 the Armenian plane A-320 suffered an aircrash and
fell into the Black sea. The whole crew and 105 passengers perished
in the result of the crash.

Lack of fuel, dispatcher error, "dispute" were among the crash causing
hypotheses. Yet the official reason for the crash was ‘human factor’.

On May 6, at 11:00 a.m. Mother Sea of Holy Echmiadzin will hold
a requiem liturgy service under All Armenian Catholicos Garegin
II supervision and blessing to honor the victims of Yerevan-Sochi
aircrash.

ANKARA: BADD Responds To Belgian Ambassador’s Accusations

BADD RESPONDS TO BELGIAN AMBASSADOR’S ACCUSATIONS
Selcuk Gultaþlý Brussels

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 2 2007

The Belgian Kemalist Thought Association (BADD) has responded strongly
to comments made by Belgian Ambassador to Turkey Marc Van Rysselberghe.

BADD Chairman Ýsmail Sonmez, in an exclusive interview with Today’s
Zaman, said that the association stands by its statement made at a
press conference last week, in which it accused the Belgian government
of partiality, favoring Armenian groups at their organization’s
expense. More explicitly, BADD claimed that on April 24 the Belgian
government had "sacked" a BADD coordinator for organizing a conference
on the Armenian "genocide."

Ambassador Rysselberghe, in a letter to TZ following coverage of the
BADD press conference, argued that the notification sent to BADD of
the withdrawal of funding for the coordinator of the group’s Armenian
conference, Pierre Bastin, had been posted on April 20 and had nothing
to do with April 24, the date on which Armenians commemorate the
"genocide."

Sonmez however responded that while it was true that the letter had
been posted on April 20, its delivery date was more than coincidence:
"We received it on April 24, and I think that what counts is not
the date on which it was posted, but the date we received it." He
added that the decision to sack the coordinator of the conference
was taken on April 15 by the Belgian authorities and that they did
not understand why the regional government had waited for five days
to post the notification of their decision.

"For the first time in years, in 2007 the Armenian lobby did not
present a resolution to Belgian representative bodies on the so-called
genocide. The Ministry of Labor, with this decision, has compensated
for the lack of resolution this year and has given this gift not only
to the Armenian lobby, but also the enemies of Turkey," Sonmez claimed.

Ambassador Rysselberghe further argued that no public authority in
Belgium could interfere in the management of private associations,
and consequently could not hire or sack employees, stressing that
regions in Belgium were responsible for employment policy and as such
had developed some categories of subsidized jobs.

Sonmez said the association was surprised by the ambassador’s reaction
and the way he explained the circumstances surrounding the firing of
Bastin. "I wonder how the ministry of labor of Brussels Capital Region
does not represent Belgium. Isn’t he one of Belgium’s high-level
officials? In the letter we received firing Bastin, it is clearly
stated that the minister of labor had approved the proceedings. We
are surprised by the statement of the Belgian ambassador in Turkey,
who implies that Belgian official authorities have no connection with
the firing of the coordinator of the conference."

In response to another comment by the ambassador, saying that BADD
had overstepped its mandate by organizing political activities,
Sonmez said that their very name clearly implied that they could
carry out political activities that would help Turks in Belgium to
understand the political system. Sonmez added that in the statute of
their association it is stated that, "The intercultural sphere will
be facilitated by language courses (in French, English, Turkish),
as well as courses and conferences aimed at explaining the political
systems of Belgium and Turkey in a comparative manner," underlining
that the word "political" exists in the statute.

Sonmez said he believes Belgian authorities are manipulating the
Armenian lobby to exert pressure on the Turkish community in Belgium.

Stressing that in the notification BADD received they were accused
of spreading propaganda denying the Armenian genocide, Sonmez said:
"Almost all enemies of Turkey, including terrorists, have a say in
the Belgian TV [stations] and papers. BADD has not been invited to
any TV program to clarify its point of view, nor have its letters been
published by any Belgian newspaper or TV stations." Sonmez added that
contrary to the ambassador’s claims, the letter had clearly stated that
Bastin has been sacked because of his organizing of the conference.

–Boundary_(ID_ovZc4RdHTyT+lBUhUSbsMw )–

Fact Of Armenian Genocide Unanimously Acknowledged By Historians

FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE UNANIMOUSLY ACKNOWLEDGED BY HISTORIANS

Yerkir
30.04.2007 17:36

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Armenian communities of the Greater Metropolitan New
York area gathered at the Surrogate’s Court House in New York City,
just north of City Hall, on April 20th for the 92nd commemoration of
the Armenian Genocide.

Organized by the Armenian National Committee of New York, community
leaders arranged a program, which dwelt on the religious, cultural
and political dimensions of the Holocaust committed by the Young Turk
government against the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian inhabitants.

The Holy Martyr’s Armenian Day School choir began the program
inside the central hall of the august, 19th century legal chamber,
singing the national anthems of the United States and the Republic of
Armenia. Later in the evening, the choir returned to pay tribute to
the 32 victims murdered by a gunman at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
earlier in the week on April 16.

Bishop Anoushavan Tanielian gave the invocation, in which he also paid
tribute to those who lost their lives on Virginia Tech’s campus. The
Bishop spoke of the courageousness and righteousness of the Istanbul
based Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who earlier in the year was
murdered by the Turkish ultra-nationalist, Ogun Samast.

Experts account for Dink’s assassination to an increasingly tolerated,
if not encouraged, environment of vigilantism against citizens who
dare to speak of the Armenian Genocide and other taboo topics of
Turkish society.

Speaking on behalf of Councilwoman Melinda Katz, a stalwart supporter
of the local Armenian community, Michael Cohen read a proclamation from
the New York City Council. Karine Birazian, Master of Ceremonies for
the program, read similar proclamations from the New York City mayor’s
office as well as from the governor’s office. Armenian Ambassador
to the United Nations Armen Martirossian addressed the audience
about international developments regarding the Armenian Genocide,
which remains a vital issue for many foreign policy and national
security matters.

"Last year, the Turkish government proposed to convene a joint
commission of historians to determine what happened to the Armenians
of the Ottoman Empire. Not only is this totally unnecessary, since
the fact of the Armenian Genocide is unanimously acknowledged by
historians, but completely absurd since the topic in question is so
taboo in Turkey, merely discussing it can lead to prosecution on the
grounds of engaging in ‘anti-Tukrishness.’"

Martirossyan also discussed the recent controversy at the United
Nations (UN), where the Turkish delegation has placed enormous pressure
on the International Secretariat to block an exhibit marking the
thirteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

Turkey’s sole concern is one sentence in the exhibit, which refers to
the Armenian Genocide. The Ambassador discussed the struggle, which
ensued to keep the exhibit with the important historical reference,
resulting in a New York Times editorial condemning Turkey for its
egregious behavior.

Following the Ambassador’s talk was a tribute to Hrant Dink,
facilitated by Dr. Hrand Markarian. Dr. Markarian’s slide presentation
gave a biographical sketch of Dink as well as a review of his
accomplishments as an Armenian community leader and human rights
activist in Turkey.

Included was a film, shot months before Dink was assassinated, in which
the late-journalist spoke of the increasingly dangerous circumstances
he was finding himself as someone who spoke openly about the Armenian
Genocide. The interview was Carla Garabedian conducted the interview
while she was making the movie Screemers.

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian gave the keynote address, in which he
emphasized the significance of the Armenian American community’s
growing political voice in Washington, D.C. "There are over 190
members in the House of Representatives and over 30 U.S. Senators,
who have co-sponsored Armenian Genocide legislation. This is the
result of Armenian Americans exercising their democratic rights for
the sake of gaining justice, not just an apology, over the crime
committed against our ancestors," said Hachikian.

Hachikian also hailed the blocking of Richard Hoagland’s nomination as
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia as an enormous victory. Hoagland was slated
to replace U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, who was forced
into retirement over his pubic affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.

Hoagland subsequently during the confirmation process expressed doubt
about whether the events of 1915 qualified as genocide, causing
a political maelstrom, resulting in U.S. Senator Robert Mendendez
placing a hold on Hoagland’s nomination.

Italian Prometeo Quartet To Play In Yerevan

ITALIAN PROMETEO QUARTET TO PLAY IN YEREVAN

Armenpress
Apr 30 2007

YEREVAN APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS: One of the best new Italian quartets-
Prometeo- and Armenian singer Anna Mailian, a famous performer of
medieval spiritual music, will join on May 2 for a concert that will
feature the works by outstanding Armenian composer Komitas, as well
as by Brahms, Mendelson and Bartok.

Mariam Shahinian, the founder of the National Gallery international
music festival, said to a news conference that the Italian quarter
will be performing in Armenia for the first time and its participation
in the third National Gallery festival is expected to give it an
extra weight.

Anna Mailian, who has been cooperating with Prometeo for a decade,
said she is fascinated with its professionalism.

Prometeo quartet was founded in 1993 by musicians from Orchestra
Giovanaile Italiana.

The National Gallery festival is being held with the support of the
Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

Armenian Genocide Remembrance

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE
By Dan Sanchez – Epoch Times Los Angeles Staff

Epoch Times, NY
April 27 2007

LOS ANGELES¯The Armenian genocide of 1915 is remembered annually on
April 24 in many cities of the United States and worldwide. Many
commemoration events were held here locally, including Glendale,
Hollywood, and Burbank where many American-Armenians live.

On the eve of April 24, a commemoration event was held in Montebello
at the site of the Armenian Martyrs Memorial Monument at Bicknell Park
next to the Montebello golf course. The tall, esthetically pleasing
monument was erected almost 40 years ago in 1968. A plaque inside
the monument states that it was "dedicated to the 1,500,000 Armenian
victims of the Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government from
1915-1921 and to men of all nations who have fallen victim to crimes
against humanity."

April 24 marks the 92nd anniversary when orders were given by the
Turkish government to begin the first modern-day genocide of the
twentieth century.

A protest was conducted on this day beginning at 4:00 p.m. in front
of the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire Boulevard, one block west
of Fairfax Avenue. It was a vocal but peaceful crowd marching with
banners and placards.

Ani Garibyan, a media representative of the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF), Glendale chapter, said, "The Turkish Consulate does not care
about this demonstration and says that the Genocide did not take
place. But it is important for us to continue doing this year by year
so that our youth can remember what happened 92 years ago."

"Well, as usual the Turkish government denies everything and says
that it never happened, which is what angers us the most at this
point. Our ancestors were slaughtered at the hands of the Ottoman
Empire which is now the Turkish government," said Mary Ashdjian,
an advisor on the Executive Board of the AYF.

"They have also been involved in recent human rights violations such
as the three writers that were killed for just writing a bible and
publishing it. A couple of months ago, Hrant Dink was assassinated
in front of his own newspaper building for speaking the truth about
the Armenian Genocide. So obviously, Turkey has serious human rights
issues. We are trying to educate as many people about this as possible,
because if you don’t accept your past, it is bound to repeat itself. It
is still happening today in Darfur as well as in Turkey. And we want
it to stop," said Ashdjian.

"Currently there are 191 co-sponsors of House Resolution 106 which
calls upon the President and U.S. foreign policy to recognize issues
related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented
in U.S. records as well as the record of the U.S. relief efforts and
humanitarian aid during the Armenian Genocide," said Andrew Kazurian,
representing the Armenian National Committee, Western Region.

"We are very confident that the Speaker in due course will call it
for a vote. The democrats have a majority and Speaker Pelosi has been
a friend to the Armenian community for a very long time. And we are
very confident in our relationship with the Speaker," said Kazurian.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement in support of the
commemoration and said, "As Mayor of America’s preeminent Armenian
community, I urge all Angelenos to reflect not only on the vast scale
and ruthlessness of the genocide, but on the horror of the global
silence under which it took place. Today I urge Angelenos to simply
never forget."

For photos:

– -Boundary_(ID_rb58UbAA4+8rxHtdnXFXNQ)–

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-4-26/54581.html

Armenia: Opposition Parties Cry Foul Over Television Coverage

ARMENIA: OPPOSITION PARTIES CRY FOUL OVER TELEVISION COVERAGE
Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet, NY
April 27 2007

Armenian opposition parties are complaining that high prices for
television campaign ads and extensive coverage of pro-government
political parties are skewing Armenia’s parliamentary campaign.

International and local media monitoring reports appear to support
the contention that the government and parties in power are dominating
television election news coverage.

An April 8-15 survey of more than a dozen television stations
conducted by the Yerevan Press Club found that the governing Republican
Party of Armenia had the most television campaign ads and received
the most exposure from the "frequency of mentions" in television
programs. Second place was held by the pro-government Prosperous
Armenia Party and third place by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF), a member of the governing coalition.

ARF leaders have threatened to go into opposition if the May 12
parliamentary election is not deemed free-and-fair.

Much of the trouble comes down to television ads. The Central Election
Commission (CEC) has stipulated that parties must have access to two
minutes of free television airtime and four minutes of paid airtime
per day. But fees for television campaign ads are estimated to have
at least tripled since the 2003 parliamentary voting. The opposition
says it does not have the resources to cover the costs

The Impeachment bloc, a group pushing for the impeachment of President
Robert Kocharian on the alleged grounds that his 2003 election was
rigged, has only purchased three minutes of political advertising on
television, stated bloc member Nikol Pashinian, editor-in-chief of the
daily Haykakan Zhamanak. "Under the law, anyone has the right to be
nominated as a candidate, to say and express what he wants. However,
to pay 80,000 drams (about $223) for one minute [of advertising]
is affordable only for those who have been thieving for years,"
Pashinian claimed.

A member of the political council of the hardline opposition
Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party agrees. "Everyone is saving their
money to go on the air during the last few days [of the campaign],
which greatly damages the party’s campaign," said Suren Sureniants.

(The official campaign ends on May 10). As a result, he added,
the Republic Party is "trying to find other options" to get its
message out.

Veteran opposition parliamentarian Arshak Sadoyan, leader of the
National Democratic Alliance Party, suggests that the best option is
to go from house to house to try and meet with people in person.

"When I go to the regions, people are surprised and ask me whether I
am really participating in the elections," said Sadoyan, who is well
known for his fiery anti-government speeches. "Clearly, they won’t
know [me] because I don’t have the resources to pay for a campaign
ad and to appear on the TV screen, and the most powerful means of
propaganda is television."

Representatives of Armenia TV, the country’s largest private TV
station, and Kentron TV, owned by Prosperous Armenia Party leader
Gagik Tsarukian, declined to comment to EurasiaNet about their campaign
ad sales.

The timing of campaign ads also plays a role, opposition members say.

Sureniants, the Republic Party official, deemed it "illogical" that
public television has scheduled a straight hour of campaign ads at
5:15pm, given that the station’s prime time falls between 7pm and
11pm. Representatives of parties allied with the government often
appear on the station during prime-time talk shows, doubling the
impact of the parties’ publicity campaigns, Sureniants charged.

"Everything is done deliberately," commented Sureniants, terming the
practice "a news blockade" backed by the government.

In response to the accusations, Public Television Deputy Executive
Director Gnel Nalbandian told EurasiaNet that the number of parties
taking part in the campaign renders providing equal airtime for all
parties a challenge. "Of course, the broadcasts of public television
cannot equally cover the events of all parties," Nalbandian said.

"Even technically, we are unable to cover the events of the 25
political parties participating in the elections and we have found
ourselves between a rock and a hard place."

Public television is preparing a response to coverage concerns raised
in a March 29-April 17 interim election report by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office of Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). The report showed that
public television devoted 43 percent of its political prime-time news
coverage to the government, with coverage in "an exclusively neutral
and positive tone." The Republican Party of Armenia received the most
airtime of parties running for parliament, with 16 percent of total
news coverage, according to the report. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation received 4 percent of airtime, and the opposition Orinats
Yerkir (Country of Law) Party received 5 percent.

Meanwhile, studies conducted by the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan
show that 75 percent of public television coverage is devoted to the
three parties of Armenia’s governing coalition (Republican Party
of Armenia, Armenia Revolutionary Federation, United Labor Party)
and only 25 percent to parties that are not members of the coalition.

The OSCE/ODIHR plans to publish a third report on the election
campaign with fresh media monitoring details the week of April 30,
said OSCE/ODIHR media analyst Ivan Godarsky. The media monitoring
results will also be included in the organization’s final report,
to be released "six to eight weeks" after the election, he added.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the independent
online weekly ArmeniaNow in Yerevan.

Some Of The Oligarchs Pay More Taxes Than Before, But Some Of Them –

SOME OF THE OLIGARCHS PAY MORE TAXES THAN BEFORE, BUT SOME OF THEM – FEWER?
By Ara Martirosian

AZG Armenian Daily
27/04/2007

Some changes are registered on the list of the first 300 taxpayers
of RA of the first quarter of this year. This time, the first
taxpayer is not the ‘Copper-molybdenum conglomerate of Zangezur’ but
‘Armrusgazprom’ with its 6.8 milliard paid taxes. In the second place
is ‘Armentel’ – 5.2 milliard drams, then comes the ‘Copper-molybdenum
conglomerate of Zangezur’ – 4.6 milliard drams, but it is worth to
mention that the conglomerate is the biggest corporation taxpayer in RA
– 2.7 milliard drams. ‘Armentel’s’ corporation tax is a little less –
2.6-milliard drams. In the fourth place is ‘Gh-telecom’ company -1.2
milliard corporate taxes out of a total of 2.9 milliard paid taxes. In
the fifth place appears ‘Salex group’ – 2.3 milliard drams, it’s one of
the companies created by the owner of ‘Yerevan-Sit’, ‘Gor’, ‘Lusastgh’
supermarkets, deputy of the National Assembly Samvel Aleksanian, who
has a monopoly on the import of sugar, and leadership on the import
of butter, alcohol and grain.

This company, like the others created by Samvel Aleksanian, does not
pay a corporate tax in general. Moreover, its paid taxes are not
even close to the real circulation indices of the company. In the
sixth place is ‘Flesh’, the biggest importer of petrol and diesel
fuel, with its 2.2-milliard drams paid taxes. The seventh is another
importer of fuel ‘Kaghpetrolservice’ – 2 milliard drams.

The biggest importer of tobacco ‘Pares Armenia’ paid 1.5 milliard
drams, ‘Electricity systems of Armenia’ – 1.1 milliard drams and the
ten concludes ‘The Armenian Atomic Power Station’ – 1.1 milliard
drams. Hrant Vardanians ‘Grand Tobacco’ (887 million drams) and
‘International Masis Tabac’ (878 million drams) companies are in
the 12th and 13th place. H. Vardanian’s other company ‘Grand Candy’
paid 337 million drams. A sharp growth has registered ‘Yerevan jur’
company – it is in the 21st place this year instead of the 83rd of
last year. Gagik Tsarukian’s ‘Araratcement’ also registered a growth
(273 million drams) and is in the 40th place instead of the 107th of
last year. We have always mentioned about the shady circulations of
‘Araratcement’ and even though the indices have changed a little this
year, they are far from being real.

Another oligarch Michail Baghdasarov’s ‘Mika cement’ company is not
even in this list, what about his company ‘Mika Armenia Traiding’, it
paid 280 million drams and is in the 37th place. Michail Baghdasarov’s
‘Armavia airlines’ company is only in the 194th place with its 62
million drams paid tax. In 2006 it was in the 136th place. According
to these indices, we can conclude that either Michail Baghdasarov’s
business does not have a success, or his status has changed, which
let him pay fewer taxes. It’s not difficult to understand that the
last is the truth.

‘Derjava -S’ (food) and ‘Metex’ (iron) companies also pay ridiculous
taxes – 9,5 million drams and 8,5 million drams. The same we can
say about the importer of electronics ‘Zigzag’, which paid only 6.8
million drams of corporation taxes.

Food and clothes fairs also pay little taxes, i.e. Malatia fair, which
is ‘Rafael-Tatev’ company, paid 118 million drams, ‘Hrazdan rental
corporation’ – 100 million drams, ‘Petak’ is in the 295th place – 42
million drams and ‘Hayastan trade center, Hayrapetian brothers’ in the
300th place – 41 million drams. For comparison we can see that State
Economic University of Armenia also paid 42 million drams and is in the
296th place side-by-side with the above-mentioned companies. These are
facts about the shadow circulations of the system of trade in Armenia.

Police Inspector Is Accused Of Taking Bribes

POLICE INSPECTOR IS ACCUSED OF TAKING BRIBES

Noyan Tapan
Apr 26 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A criminal action was brought at the
RA Prosecutor’s General Office Department on Control over Legality
of Examination and Pleminary Investigation against Aram Chughurian,
an inspector of the Kanaker-Zeytun Examination Inspectorate of
the RA Police Yerevan Examination Department. As the Noyan Tapan
correspondent was informed by the RA Prosecutor’s General Office,
the inspector is accused of taking a bribe of especially big sizes.

According to the case materials, citizen Armen Hamamjian informed
the police about the fact that citizen V. Melkonian with fraud, part
by part captured from him 6020 U.S. dollars. Inspector A. Chughurian
brought a criminal action on the occasion of the fact on March 10,
2006. But, getting 4500 U.S. dollars from V. Melkonian for illegaly
setting free from the criminal liability, the inspector changed
contents of a number of documents existing in the criminal case,
involved false information and made a decision on quashing the case
on October 10 of the same year.