Author: Torgomian Varazdat

RUSSIA PLEDGES MORE EFFORTS TO LIFT ARMENIAN ‘BLACK BOXES’
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 15 2006
Russian authorities plan to use a robotic device to try to recover
the flight data recorders from an Armenian passenger jet that crashed
in the Black Sea earlier this month, killing all 113 people on board,
the ITAR-Tass news agency reported Sunday.
The device, which includes a video monitor and a hydraulic apparatus
that will be used to try to lift the recorders from a depth of nearly
500 meters (1,640 feet), was being loaded onto a ship in the port of
Novorossiisk, ITAR-Tass said.
It cited the head of the state commission investigating the May 3
crash, Transport Minister Igor Levitin, as saying an operation to
recover the “black boxes” would begin Tuesday.
Authorities hope the recorders will help them pinpoint the cause of
the crash. The Armavia Airbus A-320 plunged into the sea in heavy
rain and poor visibility as it approached the airport in Adler,
near the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
The PT-1000 device has been used by geologists to lift natural objects
weighing up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) from the sea floor, the report
said. It has not been used to lift man-made objects.
(ITAR-Tass-Photolur photo: fragments of the crashed plane recovered
from the Black Sea.)

RUSSIA IS REGAINING KARABAKH
Lragir.am
13 may 06
Over the past week the experts of the Russia-based Strategic Culture
Foundation headed by the director of this organization Vladimir
Maximenko were in Karabakh. They visited villages, military units, met
with the government, ordinary people. At Stepanakert Press Club they
met with news reporters. Alarge amount of data on Karabakh can be
found on the Internet, but they are not always true. Most people, even
Armenians, tend to think that the war is going on in Karabakh, and
only several dozens of soldiers live here. Whereas, the Russian
experts say the situation is quite different.
In an interview with us Expert Alexander Krilov, Ph.D., said he
visited many post-Soviet countries, and compared with them life in
Karabakh is much better. `On May 9 we went to the central square of
Stepanakert and were astonished. We saw well-dressed young people,
cheerful but calm. There are no drunkards, drug addicts. This is
something unusual for us,’ said Alexander Krilov.
For the attitude of Russia towards Karabakh, the Russian expert said
presently only tendencies can be considered. `The official standpoint
is the same: resolution in the framework of territorial integrity. At
the same time, progress is reported on a non-governmental level. Last
year the Caucasian Institute of Russian Democracy became engaged in
Karabakh. As far as I know, they aided considerably the Russian
community, funded educational and cultural programs. We learned here
that the Russian Orthodox Church is going to build a church in
Stepanakert. Thus, though on a level of humanitarian organizations,
Russia’s returning to Karabakh,’ said A. Krilov.

Panorama.am
13:00 12/05/06

EDUCATION MINISTER WANTS TO RESIGN
Sergo Yeritsyan, Minister of Education and Science and Orinats Yerkir
Party member thinks to resign the office. Education ministry sources
say that the most probably the minister will resign. Interestingly
enough, not Sergo Yeritsyan, but his deputy Norayr Ghukassyan talked
to the government session yesterday.
H. Margaryan, member of OYP made a statement late yesterday saying
that their party is leaving from the state coalition and that OYP
leader Arthur Baghdasaryan will resign from the chairmanship of the
National Assembly. /Panorama.am/

THE JAVAKHQ SOLDIERS WILL NOT BE DEPRIVED OF THEIR HOMES
A1+
[09:04 pm] 11 May, 2006
Head of Akhalkalak region Arthur Eremyan voices hope that the dwelling
buildings of the Russian military base 62 will be given to the city
municipality after the Russian soldiers release the premises.
Most of the above mentioned buildings belong to the Javakhq
soldiers. The authorities of the region voice hope that the Javakhq
residents will not be deprived of their homes after the military base
is given to Georgian Ministry of Defence and the Russian soldiers
release the buildings.
By the way, according to “A – Info” the regional board started to make
a list of Javakhq residents living in the military base in order to
apply to the Georgian central authorities with their request.

US CONSIDERS STRIKES ON IRAN FROM AZERI TERRITORY
Yerkir
11.05.2006 18:39
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – UN former nuclear weapons inspector Scott Ritter
stated the US Administration considers strikes upon Iran from the
territory of Azerbaijan. In his words, after acquainting oneself with
military maps, it will be clear that deploying troops in Azerbaijan
is extremely important for the US.
“US command is extremely interested in deployment of forces in
that South Caucasian country. Why is this important? It is Iran’s
neighbor. The shortest route to Teheran lies below the Caspian,
where the army plans an offensive to,” the expert noted.
Ritter supposes that the military believe they can fulfill this mission
and they plan implementing it. “They got political instructions from
the commander-in-chief to fulfill that task. No one should doubt US
President, his closest circles and the military prepare to war with
Iran,” Scott Ritter emphasized, reports American Patriot.

TURKEY BOYCOTTS JOINT MILITARY TRAINING IN CANADA
Agence France Presse — English
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Turkey has withdrawn from an upcoming military training exercise in
Canada, according Canadian officials, as a diplomatic row brews over
Canada’s characterization of massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire, as genocide.
“Turkey has advised the organizers of exercise Maple Flag on Friday
that they would not be participating in this year’s exercise,”
a spokeswoman for Canada’s defence department told AFP.
“Turkey is an important NATO ally and we hope they will participate
in future exercises,” she said.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported Wednesday the boycott was in
protest of Canada’s view. Turkish officials in Ottawa could not be
reached for comment.
Earlier, Turkey said it temporarily recalled its ambassador in Canada
for consultations over the disagreement.
Turkey was angered when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
referred to the “Armenian genocide” as fact in a statement praising
commemorations of the 91st anniversary of the killings on April 24.
The foreign ministry said at the time that Harper’s words were
“appalling” and would “negatively affect” bilateral ties.
In 2002, the Canadian Senate recognised the massacres as the first
genocide of the 20th century and the House of Commons followed suit
two years later.
Armenians claim that as many as 1.5 million of their kin were
slaughtered in orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917, as the
Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey’s predecessor, was falling apart.
Turkey categorically rejects the claims, saying 300,000 Armenians and
at least as many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian
troops invading Ottoman soil.
Operation Maple Flag involves some 40 fighter aircraft flown by pilots
from nine countries, including France, Britain, the United States,
New Zealand and Singapore.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO MEET AGAIN
A1+
[02:19 pm] 10 May, 2006
The next meeting of the Armenian and Azeri Foreign Ministers is
anticipated on May 18-19 in Strasbourg within the framework of the
CE Political Council session.
Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov announced that the OSCE
Minsk group co-chairs have “several interesting ideas” about the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, agency “Trend” reports. According
to Mamedyarov, this meeting will reveal if there is a necessity for
the Presidents of the countries to meet.
Nevertheless, the rumors about the coming meeting of the Presidents
testify that it can be organized at the end of May in Paris, within
the framework of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

GENERAL MANVEL WILL NOT ALLOW, NOT EVEN A PATCH OF LAND
Lragir.am
09 May 06
Deputy Minister of Defense Manvel Grigoryan, the leader of the Union
of Yerkrapah Volunteers, addressing the celebration of the Day of
Yerkrapah on May 8, announced that Armenia will never give up five of
the liberated regions. `
The announcements of certain politicians on returning these areas in
our and foreign mass media cannot be true, because these areas are
populated, and it is common knowledge that territory belongs to those
who live there,’ stated Manvel Grigoryan. Manvel Grigoryan thinks the
Armenian people must be unified, for the strength of any nation is its
unity. `Every election, every political event is nothing compared with
the unity of the Armenian nation. This unity enabled our victory,’
stated Manvel Grigoryan. He rejects the stage by stage resolution of
the conflict over Karabakh, which supposes returning the territories
controlled by the Armenian armed forces. `Nothing of the like. I do
not understand and accept this. I exclude the return of the areas. I
am ready to prevent the return of the regions whenever such attempts
are made,’ announced Manvel Grigoryan.

RUSSIA JOINS ARMENIA IN MOURNING
BBC NEWS:
europe/4975648.stm
2006/05/05 07:09:46 GMT
Armenia and Russia have begun public mourning for 113 people feared
killed when an airliner crashed into the Black Sea near the Russian
city of Sochi.
Most of the dead were Armenians on a flight from Yerevan, and the
small Caucasus republic is holding two days of mourning while Russia
will hold one.
Moscow has appealed for foreign help to retrieve the Armenian Airbus
A320’s flight recorders.
Signals suggest they have been located at a depth of 680m (2,200ft).
The important thing is to be able to bury the victims so that there
is a place where you can go to cry Arman Davtian brother of victim
The search for bodies is continuing, with 50 retrieved as of Friday
morning. Of these, 41 have been identified – 31 of them Armenians
and 10 Russians.
The 105 passengers included 26 Russian nationals, and six children
were also aboard.
While the cause of the crash is not known, officials say bad weather
at the time may have brought it down as it tried to make a second
landing attempt.
It reportedly hit the sea at an angle of 60 degrees, 6km from the
coast near Adler airport, just outside Sochi.
DNA tests
Flags are flying at half-mast in Armenia and Russia and public
entertainment events have been cancelled as a mark of respect for
the dead.
TV channels in Russia have changed their schedules to drop
entertainment programmes on Friday, Itar-Tass news agency reports.
Russia is preparing to fly the first identified bodies to Yerevan,
the Armenian capital, on Friday on a transport plane while a passenger
plane will take back bereaved relatives.
DNA samples have been taken from relatives who did not find their loved
ones’ remains, in the hope of identification at a later stage, Russian
Transport Minister Igor Levitin was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.
“The tests will be done by Russian experts at a request by the Armenian
side,” he added.
Correspondents reported scenes of anguish in Sochi and Yerevan.
“The victims’ bodies are unrecognisable, horribly disfigured –
a mother wouldn’t know her own son,” one young man looking for his
brother-in-law’s body told AFP news agency in Yerevan.
Another young man, Arman Davtian, had just returned from Sochi where
the remains of his brother had been identified.
“I hope that all the other families can recover the bodies,” he said.
“The important thing is to be able to bury the victims so that there
is a place where you can go to cry.”

“HOT LINE” CREATED
A1+
[12:15 pm] 03 May, 2006
There is still no clear-cut information about the crash of the airplane
A-320. “Armavia” airlines to which the plane belongs has opened a
“hot line”.
Calling (+37-410) 28-63-56 people can get information about the
passengers of the plane. As we were informed by the service, they
still have no information about those saved.
The working group of the civic aviation chief administration has left
for Sochi to learn the details of the crash.