Author: Taslakhchian Andranik

AGAINST LEGAL WILFULNESS NGO RENDERS CHARITY MEDICAL SERVICE TO ITS
BENEFICIARIES IN ARMAVIR

ARMAVIR, MAY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Against Legal Wilfulness NGO rendered
regular charity assistance to its beneficiaries, among which there
were families of missing people, prisoners of war who have returned,
as well as persons exposed to tortures. Cooperating with the Armavir
Development Center NGO, Against Legal Wilfulness NGO on May 24
rendered free therapeutic, psychotherapeutic and psychological medical
service in Armavir. As Zhorzheta Mesropian, coordinator of the
organization’s program, informed Noyan Tapan correspondent, RA
Ministry of Health and UMCOR organization provide their assistance in
the free medical service. The Foundation of Protection of Youths NGO
working since 1991 was renamed Against Legal Wilfulness. The
organization’s mission is to reveal missing freedom-fighters and to
integrate the prisoners of war to the society.

MIKAYEL HAROUTIUNIAN ASSURES THAT NOTHING TO BE GIVEN TO ARMENIAN
ARMED FORCES FROM RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN GEORGIA

YEREVAN, MAY 25, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. No unit of armour
technics will enter Armenia from the Russian military bases placed in
the territory of Georgia. As Colonel General Mikayel Haroutiunian, the
Chief of the Armed Forces Headquarters General of Armenia mentioned,
it is spoken only about cars, means of communication and other
techniques with which the 102nd Russian military base placed in Gyumri
will be completed. Haroutiunian assured that nothing will be given to
the Armed Forces of Armenia from the above-mentioned military
equipment. According to him, the first echelon arrived in Gyumri on
May 18, and few others will arrive soon. Haroutiunian stated that the
armed forces, military equipment and armament of the Russian military
bases are mainly moved from Georgia to Russia. Responding the Noyan
Tapan correspondent’s question, the RA Armed Forces Headquarters
General Chief does not consider trustworhty those rumours that a part
of echelons with the Russian military equipment may accidentally stay
in Azerbaijan through the territory of which they are moved to Russia.

“IRAVUNK” BRINGS AN ACTION AGAINST SASHIK SARGSYAN

A1+
[07:48 pm] 25 May, 2006

“Iravunk” weekly is going to appeal to the Prosecutor’s Office
demanding to institute proceedings against Sashik Sargsyan who is
accused of violating the right of a journalist in the NA.

Let us remind you that that two days ago Alexander Sargsyan, NA deputy
and brother of RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan cursed and threatened
Taguhi Tovmasyan , reporter of “Iranunk” for the material he “didn’t
like” and made attempts to find out the source of information.

Today Haik Babukhanyan, deputy chairman of Constitutional Rights
Union and secretary of the editorial council of “Iravunk” informed
that he was the main source of information and Sahik Sargsyan can
turn to him in case he has got any question.

I see a group of criminals connected with the act of this deputy
and the editorial staff of the newspaper will bring an action on
this score,

“We can hardly have any expectations from the Prosecutor’s Office and
from Courts but we keep silent,” informed the editor of the newspaper
Hovhannes Galadjyan.

Ashot Abgaryan, lawyer and representative of the newspaper will deal
with the legal issues. He is already preparing material and he will
likely present them to the Prosecutor’s Office.

By the way, the Mass Media are going to submit a joint announcement
condemning the attempts of breaching a journalist’s activity.

Of course we can anticipate how many of them will sign the announcement
and who will be offered to put his signature on the whole, and we
assume that once more the field of journalism will be divided nearly
the same way it was after the announcement on the embattlement of
“A1+.”

FLIGHT DATA RECORDER FROM CRASHED A320 FOUND

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 22 2006

MOSCOW, May 22 (Itar-Tass) — One of the two flight data recorders
from the Armenian Airbus-320 passenger plane, which crashed into the
Black Sea off Sochi on May 3, was found on Monday, Russian Transport
Minister Igor Levitin said.

The search for the second “black box” will start this night, he said.

The first “black box” was lifted from the seabed at about 3.05 p.m.
(1105 GMT). “The flight data recorder was found under a layer of
soil. The operation to lift it began at 09:00 Moscow time and lasted
six hours. The ‘black box’ has been sent to Moscow for deciphering.

The second data recorder may be not far from the place where the
first one was found,” the operational headquarters told Itar-Tass.

The head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, Tatyana Anodina, said,
“The found flight data recorder is badly damaged because of strong
impact and because of lying in an aggressive environment.”

She said data from the recorder would be analysed by a standard
procedure that will involve officials from Armenia, France, and Russia.

The operation to lift the flight data recorders started last Tuesday
but was interrupted by a strong side wind that constantly carried
away the ship, which is operating the RT-1000 apparatus, which is
conducting the search for the flight recorders.

Silt on the seabed complicated the work, covering the video camera
and the searchlights. The team had to raise the apparatus several
times to clean them. It takes 40 minutes for the apparatus to sink
and as much to come back to the surface.

The apparatus had not participated in such operations before. It
raised only geological samples weighing up to 20 kilogrammes and did
not work at such depths.

The device is capable to lift fragments of a plane weighing up to
12 kilogrammes and the two flight recorders, each weighing seven
kilogrammes, the head of the Federal Agency for Sea and River
Transport, Alexander Davydenko, said.

The RT-1000 is a system consisting of control and lifting equipment
and the apparatus itself with photo and video equipment and a hydraulic
manipulator operating in all directions.

Davydenko said the operation would involve several groups of 18
people. Each will work for eight hours.

The Navigator’s crew obtained the first television image of the flight
recorders lying at the depth of almost 500 metres, using the top-notch
research complex Kalmar.

The Kalmar equipment was provided by the department for salvage and
emergency operations based in the port city of Novorossisk.

The designer of the complex, the Russian corporation Tetis-Pro,
made the Kalmar for the Russian Navy. When the A-320 crashed, the
complex, which includes a sonic depth-tester having the functions of
a side-looking sonar, was still in the phase of testing.

The Kalmar is capable of tracking down objects at the depths of down
to 600 meters.

The flight recorders are lying on the seabed 496 metres from the
surface and about five metres apart. “The visibility is sufficient
for the work to be done,” the minister said.

Flight recorders used on aircraft of the Airbus-320 type withstand
the depth of up to 6,000 meters for 30 days, experts from the French
air crash investigation bureau said.

They said that flight recorders’ radio beacons keep working during
the 30-day period.

One of the flight recorders registers flight parameters, including the
speed, height and direction of the flight and the autopilot operation,
each second. The other gadget records conversations in the cockpit.

Each flight recorder weighs 10 kilograms, including a seven-kilogram
armoured casing for the gadget. The casing can withstand water pressure
at a depth of 6,000 meters, the temperature of 1,100 degrees Celsius,
and the compression of 2.2 tonnes.

The bureau retrieved flight recorders from the depth of over 1,000
meters in the Red Sea in January 2004, when an Egyptian plane crashed
near the Sharm-el-Sheikh resort. The rescuers were using a Scorpio
deep-water apparatus.

A technical commission investigating the Sochi air crash, which is
led by the CIS Interstate Aviation Committee, has asked French experts
to help find A-320 flight recorders.

Of 113 people who were abroad the plane, 51 bodies have been found
so far.

The Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the
Black Sea as it was making a landing manoeuvre in the early hours of
May 3. The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.

PRESIDENT KOCHARYAN NOT TO RUN FOR THIRD TERM

Yerevan, May 20. ArmInfo. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan will not
run for third term, say the national security advisor o the Armenian
president Garnik Isagulyan.

Isagulyan does not refute the possibility of Kocharyan taking up the
post of prime minister but indirectly rules it out. Concerning the
presidential candidature of Armenian Defence Minister Serzh Sargsyan,
Isagulyan says that today he is the best prepared politician in
Armenia and will ensure the continuation of the present political
policy. Still Sargsyan has not officially stated yet that he is going
to run for the presidency.

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES ENVIRONMENT MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION CONCEPT

Arka News Agency, Armenia
May 19 2006

YEREVAN, May 19. /ARKA/. Armenian Government approved Thursday a
concept of environment monitoring implementation, Armenian Deputy
Environmental Minister Simon Papyan said Thursday at a briefing in
Yerevan. Under this concept, the ministry has to work out monitoring
program within 6 months and give certain powers to appropriate units.

Papyan said the state monitoring concept embraces air, water, soil,
bio-variety and radiation safety areas.

The deputy minister also said it is under consideration now how much
money is needed to put this concept into practice.

The program will be funded by state budget, international organizations
and donors.

ARARAT DIOCESE OF ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH STARTS DISCUSSION OF DA VINCI CODE BOOK AND MOVIE

Yerevan, May 18. ArmInfo. May 19 the Ararat Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church will start the discussion of the Da Vinci Code book
and movie, reports the press service of the diocese.

Attending the discussion will be Armenian clergymen, artists,
psychologists, students.

To remind, the movie has received negative response from both film
critics and Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic religious leaders. The
Holy See of Echmiadzin is also going to protest against the movie, but
among ordinary people and especially video pirates it is super popular.

WEATHER ABRUPT WORSENING HAMPERS SEARCH FOR A-320 FLIGHT RECORDERS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2006 17:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The weather worsened abruptly at the location,
where A-320 liner’s flight recorders are sought for. It rains and the
sea is heavy, reported the operative staff of technical support to the
operation. “The wind was strong at night – 20m/s. It is extremely hard
to search at the sea bottom, however attempts are made,” the source
said. According to data available, the flight recorders are at the
depth of 496 meters and the distance between them makes 5 meters.

A-320 airbus of Armavia air company (Armenia) fell in the Black Sea
on the night of May 3 when coming in the land at Sochi airport. 113
persons died. Attempts to lift the flight recorders of the crashed
airplane resumed late at night, when the wind dropped.

Navigator vessel having a deep-water device aboard remains in the
location of the search for flight recorders, reported the operative
staff of technical support to the operation, reports Itar-Tass.

ARTASHAT TILE FACTORY TURNS OUT 4-5 THOUSAND SQUARE METRES PRODUCTION MONTHLY

Noyan Tapan
May 18 2006

ARTASHAT, MAY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. Production turned out by the Artashat
tile factory has enjoyed wide demand for 6 years continuously both in
Armenia and in some foreign countries. Raw material of tile is brought
from the village of Lanjazat, the marz of Ararat, then after having
been reprocessed for 5-10 days, it becomes a ready material. Besides,
as much clay becomes older as production is of better quality. As
the Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed by the factory, tile of
4-5 thousand square meters is turned out every month.

Already for five years builders of the “Vahagni” district, the “Ararat
Shin” trust, “Jrashkharh” (Waterland), different building organizations
and individuals are regular clients of the factory. Frenchmen as well
gave a high estimate to Artashat tile. As a result of the friendship
created between the city of Clamar and Artashat, the center of the
Ararart marz, Frenchmen visited the factory many times, bought,
according to them, production corresponding to European standards.

THOMAS DE WAAL: IT’S TERRIBLE TO THINK OF PANDORA’S BOX WHICH WILL OPEN, IF MILITARY ACTIONS RESUME IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

Yerevan, May 17. ArmInfo. The resumption of military actions in
Nagorno Karabakh will be disastrous for the whole region. Thomas De
Waal, author of “Black Garden. Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace
and War” book, editor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting,
said in the interview to ArmInfo.

He stated that the war that ended in 1994 was also a tragic one,
as Nagorno Karabakh spent 10 years for restoration of the ruins. He
added that the technology of that war was quite primitive as, compared
with the current military potential of both sides.

“Certainly, if a new stage of war unfolds, that will happen at the
initiative of Azerbaijan. But, I also know that some “Armenian hawks”
in Karabakh dream of “the last round” of the war, in which they will
take the final victory by blowing up the Baku-Seyhan pipe line. It’s
terrible to think of Pandora’s box that may open in that case. I,
being a person who knows and loved this region, think this is a
horrible scenario,” Thomas De Waal stated.

In response to the question, whether the continuing information war
is a result of the open or secret instructions from the authorities of
both republics, he said that both the mass media and the authorities of
Armenia and Azerbaijan are to be blamed for the current situation. “The
presidents and the Foreign Ministers of both countries meet in
third countries for discussion of serious mutual concessions in the
settlement process. While in their own countries they fight rhetorical
wars against each other and allow the official mass media sources
fight an information war,” he said. At the same time, he thinks that
the society doesn’t listen to an alternative viewpoint and lives
in a black and white world. Thus, the sides fail to begin a public
dialogue about the common future of Armenia and Azerbaijan. As for
the position of super powers in the Nagorno Karabakh issue, he said
that the foreign states are really for the peace in this region.