Author: Nargizian David

Armenian Airbus crash in May caused by piloting errors – officials

AFX International Focus
July 26, 2006 Wednesday 11:07 AM GMT

MOSCOW (AFX) – The crash of an Armenian Airbus plane off Russia’s
Black Sea coast in May that killed all 113 people on board was caused
by piloting errors, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said.

‘Weather conditions were difficult, the human factor played its role,’
Levitin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying at a press
conference, held about the results of an inquiry into the crash of
the A320 liner belonging to Armavia airlines.

Tatyana Anodina, head of the intergovernmental aviation committee
that took part in the enquiry, said: ‘The main pilot did not ensure
control of the plane as far as angle and altitude were concerned.’

‘The co-pilot did not ensure necessary control on the descent,’
Anodina said, adding that an alarm system had gone off as the plane
plunged but that it was too late to regain altitude.

The Airbus A320 plunged into the Black Sea on May 3 amid rainy weather
as it was coming in to land in Sochi — a popular coastal resort city
in southwest Russia.

NATIONAL TEAM OF CHINA WINS WORLD YOUTH TEAM WITH ONE POINT

TAIYUAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The competition of the youth chess
teams of China and world finished on July 23 in the city of Taiyuan,
China. The national team of China won with a score of 36,5:35,5. Karen
Asrian, representative of Armenia gained 6 from the possible 12 points
in the world team and showed a 50% result.

MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE: OPEN PROJECT WITH SECRET CANDIDATES

Lragir.am
24 July 06

The Stakeholders Committee of the Millennium Challenge Armenia met
July 24 to present current developments of public involvement in the
Millennium Challenge Account to the society. However, there was little
to tell.

The most interesting thing about this meeting. Although the members
of the Stakeholders Committee Levon Barseghyan and Nazelee Vardanyan
announced that the meetings of the committee are open for everyone,
they declined to give the names of the three candidates of chief
executive of the committee chosen out of 5 and out of 48 nominees,
whose data were extended to the MCC in the United States. According to
Levon Barseghyan, publication of names would create additional risks
of corruption. In other words, the candidates have already resorted
to or tried to resort to nepotism.

The speakers announced that they work openly, however the project does
not provide funds for dissemination, therefore there are shortcomings
in this sphere. The Institute of Open Society promises to help and
organize discussions in the regions, especially that according to
the members of the MCA Stakeholders Committee awareness is especially
low in rural areas.

The other components of the project are not perfect. The bylaws of
the Stakeholders Committee were not adopted, the local councils were
not set up. Only the managing board of the MCA project was set up,
which will be accountable to the Stakeholders Committee. By the way,
the 5 representatives of the civil society included in the managing
board can veto every decision. "Hence, the importance of cooperation
between NGOs is emphasized once again," said Nazelee Vardanyan,
who is a member of the stakeholders committee and the managing board.

And Levon Barseghyan says it is not right that the project will be
monitored by the deputy director. About 5 million dollars was allocated
for the monitoring. Levon Barseghyan believes that there must be
independent and competent monitoring, and is worried that otherwise
over 180 million dollars foreseen for building will be dissipated.

Armenian foreign minister insists on existing of document on Garabagh negotiations table

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
July 24, 2006

Armenia’s foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan in a news conference today
said the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza is not
expected to offer a new proposal in his upcoming visit to the region.

APA reports quoting the Armenian media that the Armenian minister
expressed hope that Bryza will achieve making the Azerbaijani side
renegotiate on the document on the table of negotiations. Oskanyan said
Armenia has obviously expressed its stance regarding this document
while Azerbaijan has problems in this context. "If Baku agrees
to renegotiate on these principles, a new stage of the negotiating
process would start," Oskanyan said. Armenian minister also said such
documents do not appear within a week but the result of long-term
negotiations, "If Azerbaijan appears to reject the proposal again,
the situation will seriously deteriorate." He recalled conducting
of parliamentary elections in Armenia in 2007 forecasting that the
negotiation process would be difficult. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry
spokesman Tahir Taghizadeh commented on Oskanyan’s statement on a
document on the negotiations table. He told the APA that Russian
co-chair of the Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov refuted the reports on
existing of any document on the table of talks. "I have no idea what
document Vardan Oskanyan is talking about. I think Oskanyan has no
idea about this either," Taghizadeh said./APA/

HE LEFT PARIS FOR SHUSHI

Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
21 July 2006

The shop of souvenirs and the Internet Club side by side attracted
our attention in Shushi. The owner of the shop, as we learned later,
is an Armenian from France, named Armen. He moved to Shushi 2 years
ago. He also set up a website providing information about Shushi. We
asked why he chose Shushi. "I like Shushi," he said. He says he has
other plans but he declined to tell about them. He only said life in
Shushi is normal, simply one needs to be patriotic and determined to
make one’s own contribution. AA

AA.

21-07-2006

FMs of Armenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina Discussed Cooperation with EU and NATO

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.07.2006 14:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Bosnia and
Herzegovina Vartan Oskanian and Mladen Ivanic discussed cooperation
with the European Union and NATO. They noted the importance of
collaboration within international structures and exchange of
delegations of cultural workers for conduction of joint events. The
interlocutors also referred to recent developments in the region. In
part, Vartan Oskanian briefed to his counterpart on the current stage
of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and invited him to Armenia,
reported the RA MFA press office.

13 members of a network of car thieves have been arrested
By m.p.

Tue, 18 Jul 2006, 21:26

Typically Spanish, Spain
July 19 2006

The police have arrested 13 members of a criminal network which
specialised in stealing luxury cars on the coast of Valencia and
Alicante, and exporting them to other countries. They also targeted
areas in Madrid and on the Costa del Sol.

Eleven of the people taken into custody are from Armenia, which
is where most of the stolen cars were sent. The other two are from
Bulgaria and Cuba.

Police made five property searches: two in Denia and one in Gandía
in Alicante province, and one each in Oliva and Cullera in Valencia.

They seized 10 luxury cars, a jet ski, stolen registration plates,
blank vehicle documentation, and 7,000 ~@ in cash.

h/article_5440.shtml

–Boundary_(ID_gqLZZOZh5/JB4 ZmJIytnNg)–

PRESS RELEASE

July 14, 2006
Embassy of the Republic of Armenia
2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008
Tel: 202-319-1976, x. 348; Fax: 202-319-2982
Email: [email protected]
Web:

Ambassador Markarian Hosts a Reception for Official Delegation From Karabakh

On June 28, 2006, Ambassador Tatoul Markarian hosted a reception at
the Embassy of Armenia in honor of Speaker Ashot Ghulian and Foreign
Minister Georgi Petrosian of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Speaker
Ghulian and Minister Petrosian visited the Washington on June
26 -28, following successful meetings in Boston and New York
earlier. In Washington, Speaker Ghulian and Minister Petrosian met
with U.S. mediator on the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, Members of
Congress, Washington-based policy and regional experts, and leaders of
the Armenian-American organizations. They held a public discussion of
prospects for Nagorno Karabakh settlement at a seminar organized by
U.S. Institute of Peace and the German Marshall Fund of the United
States.

During his welcoming remarks at the Embassy reception, Ambassador
Markarian stressed the importance of the visit by Speaker Ghulian
and Minister Petrosian, providing an opportunity to the elected
representatives of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic to present their
position on the Nagorno Karabakh peace process. In their remarks,
Speaker Ghulian and Minister Petrosian noted the significant progress
in democratic and economic reforms in Nagorno Karabakh and stressed
the firm determination of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to live in
a free, independent, and democratic state.

The reception brought together foreign diplomats, media, think tank
experts on the region, representatives of the Armenian-American
organizations and members of Washington’s Armenian community.

Earlier, on June 27, Ambassador Markarian co-hosted a reception on
the Capitol Hill honoring the Karabakh delegation, together with
the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian issues, NKR
Representative in the United States, the Armenian Assembly of America
and the Armenian National Committee of America.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA CHALLENGES REP. BURTON’S ATTACK ON NAGORNO KARABAGH

— Distributes Fact Sheets Addressing Factual Inaccuracies
and Anti-Democratic Bias in his Speech on House floor

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
responded today to a July 17th speech on the House floor by Congressman
Dan Burton (R-IN) that seriously misrepresented Nagorno Karabagh’s
history, status, and right to self-determination.

The Indiana legislator took to the House floor yesterday in an
apparent attempt to undermine the growing Congressional support
for Nagorno Karabagh – as demonstrated by the successful recent
Washington, DC visit and U.S. Capitol reception for the Parliamentary
Speaker and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh.
Commenting on what he perceived as a pro-Nagorno Karabagh tilt among
U.S. legislators, Rep. Burton stressed that: "Any outside influence,
any shift in neutrality can only result in a false peace. That is
why I am deeply concerned when I hear some of my colleagues throwing
barbs at the Azeris and attempting to lay all the blame for this
complicated issue at their doorstep."

In a factually incorrect statement, he sought to call into question
Nagorno Karabagh’s right to self-determination, asserting that:
"So far as I know, the Nagorno-Karabakh region has never been a part
of Armenia. To suggest otherwise, and to suggest that the problems
in Nagorno-Karabakh are caused solely by Azerbaijan seems to me to
distort the facts and potentially undermine our good faith efforts
to see this conflict resolved; and to see peace and prosperity come
to the people of both Azerbaijan and Armenia."

In a three-page fact sheet sent to every Congressional office, the
ANCA challenged Congressman Burton’s inaccurate description of the
Nagorno Karabagh issue as well as the biased and counter-productive
advice he offered to his House colleagues. The key points addressed
in the ANCA document included:

1) Nagorno Karabagh’s commitment to peace

2) Azerbaijan’s threat to regional stability

3) Nagorno Karabagh’s economic growth

4) Nagorno Karabagh’s right to self-determination

5) Nagorno Karabagh’s commitment to democracy

6) Nagorno Karabagh’s pivotal role in ending the Soviet
threat to America

In addition, the ANCA provided a one-page update on Azerbaijan’s
post-Soviet evolution into an increasingly corrupt and autocratic
petro-state, characterized by leaders who seek to bridge the growing
gap with their own population by demonizing their Armenian neighbors.

To view a copy of the ANCA fact sheets, visit:

R.pdf

rbaijan.pdf

#####

Turkish NGOs stage anti-Israel demonstration in Ankara

Anatolia news agency
17 Jul 06

Ankara, 17 July: A group of demonstrators from several nongovernmental
organizations staged a protest against Israel in Turkish capital
on Monday.

The group gathered in front of Palestine’s embassy in Ankara and
marched up to Lebanon’s embassy. They chanted slogans calling for
support to Palestine and Lebanon.

Later demonstrators marched to Israel’s embassy. "Israel’s attacks
that targeted first Palestine now expanded to Lebanon. Israel wages
attacks on any country to it choice," spokesman of the group said.

The group later dispersed quietly.