Author: Vanyan Gary

M. BAGHDASAROV CALLS NOT TO BELIEVE TO VARIOUS HEARSAY OVER A-320 CRASH
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 13:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The flight recorders may be lifted already today
and most likely French specialists will lift them, Armavia air
company head Mikhail Baghdasarov said in Yerevan. In his words,
in a few days it will be possible to know how the tragedy actually
happened. He also said that the Airbus Investigation Bureau is holding
all investigation. He called not to believe to various hearsay and
versions.
“We should base ourselves on facts and they are: there was enough
kerosene, the plane was trig, the crew was trained. All the rest will
be cleared out, when flight recorders are lifted,” he said. Baghdasarov
added there were no arms and especially fight aboard. “If it were
the case, it could be heard from the land,” he said.
The air company head underscored that pilot Grigoryan was trained and
retrained in Holland and he was a qualified pilot. “As of bad weather,
it was not so bad that A-320 could not land. Old soviet airplanes could
not do it, but airbuses land in any weather,” Baghdasarov remarked.
As of further plans of the company, May 18 a new A-319, bought in
Canada, is arriving in Yerevan. “We are going to buy another airbus
and a small plane with 50-60 seats. The company buys only those plane,
which are produced after 2000. The new A-319 is assembled in 2004,”
the air company head said.

OSKANIAN AND ABRAHAMYAN DISCUSSED ARMENIA-DIASPORA FORUM ORGANIZATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
15.05.2006 19:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met with
President of the World Armenian Congress Ara Abrahamyan to discuss
the events to be held in Yerevan on the initiative of the WAC. Ara
Abrahamyan familiarized the Minister with the details of the forums
titled “Caucasus without conflicts: dialogue of civilizations in
the Caucasian crossroad” and “Sitting of group of experts engaged in
Armenian Genocide issue” as well as with the outcomes expected from
the conferences.
Noting the urgency of the problems raised Vartan Oskanian expressed
readiness to assist in organizing the events. Ara Abrahamyan also
briefed to the Foreign Minister on the WAC activities and new programs
launched by the organization. Besides, the interlocutors addressed
the issues referring to the conduction of the Armenia-Diaspora third
forum scheduled for this September and touched upon some international
and regional problems, reported RA MFA press office.

“SERGO APPRECIATED HIS POST MORE THAN HIS HONOR”
A1+
[06:40 pm] 15 May, 2006
“Sergo preferred his post to his honor and that of his party. Perhaps
he has been promised another post”, head of the faction Orinats
Yerkir Samvel Balasanyan told “A1+”. He refused to speak about the
Ministers who left the party in order to retain their posts saying,
“I don’t want to comment on the actions of the others. I speak about
Sergo as he had a political post, that’s why I said that.”
Although Samvel Balasanyan was indignant at the attitude of Sergo
and the others, he does not think that the reason of that is the
ideological crisis of the party. Asked the question if the OYP is
suffering an ideological crisis Samvel Balasanyan answered, “No, the
ideologists of the party who have been working will keep working. Here
are our deputies.” Heghine Bisharyan, Hovhannes Margaryan, Gagik
Avetisyan, Vram Gyurzadyan and Gagik Mkheyan were sitting in the room.
This group of people who remained faithful to Arthur Baghdasaryan was
waiting for the meeting with the NA President. After the meeting they
informed that technical issues have been discussed.
By the way, deputy Mekhak Mkhitaryan has also left the party and
the faction. Khachik Petrosyan too is to resign, but his resignation
is postponed due to objective reasons: he is mourning the death of
his cousin who was on board the plane A-320 which crashed on May 3
in Sochi. Let us remind you that Khachik Petrosyan is the nephew of
Karlos Petrosyan.

New Anatolian, Turkey
May 13 2006
Copter tender rests on Armenian card
Evren Deger – The New Anatolian / Ankara

Turkey’s drawn-out decision to purchase combat helicopters will be
shaped by the play of the Armenian card in the French Parliament,
which recently proposed a bill threatening prison terms for people
who question the controversial Armenian genocide claims.
The fate of the estimated $2 billion Attack and Tactical
Reconnaissance Helicopter (ATAK) tender, which began last year and is
expected to be finalized by June, will be affected by the vote set to
take place in the French Parliament on Thursday.
Four companies have submitted proposals for the tender that seeks 91
helicopters (30 firm, 20 additional and 41 optional).
The firms that submitted their request for proposal documents to the
Defense Industry Undersecretariat were Italian Agusta, French
Eurocopter, Russian Rosoboronexport and South African Denel Aviation.
The models proposed are Eurocopter’s Tiger, Agusta’s A129 Mangusta,
Rosoboronexport’s MI-28 Havoc and Denel Aviation’s CSH-2 Rooivalk.
>From among these four models, interest has only been shown in the
French and South African options.
According to defense industry observers, the final decision, which
will be made in June, will be shaped by the French Parliament’s
decision on the Armenian bill.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer sent a message to his French
counterpart Jacques Chirac this week warning passage of the bill
could have serious consequences.
Should the French Parliament pass the bill in question, the likely
winner of the tender will be South Africa’s Denel Aviation. The same
defense circles said that the South African model has a phenomenal
success rate after passing many technical tests.
ARABASLIK: History of ATAK tender
It has been 10 years since the ATAK project was initiated in 1996. In
the first tender opened that year, there were no results to come out
of contract meetings to discuss U.S. firm Bell Textron’s King Kobra
model and Russian firm Kamov’s Erdogan model. The Defense Industry
Executive Committee canceled the tender in May 2004 and it has since
entered another phase.
Two companies from both the U.S. and Europe, as well as one company
each from Russia and South Africa, were invited to take part in the
tender. The American firms, however, withdrew last summer over a
clause in the tender granting the approval of the administrative
specifications from the beginning of the tender.
Following the withdrawal and delays in proposals from other firms,
especially the South African offer, the deadline for submissions was
extended from last June last year to Sept. 13.
The deadline was later again pushed back to Nov. 8 in order to give
other companies, including those in the current four, the opportunity
to to make an offer.

Iran reportedly fortifying border with Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani news agency APA
11 May 06

Baku, 11 May: Iran is deploying reinforcements and fortifying border
installations on the Fuzuli and Beylaqan sections of the
Iranian-Azerbaijani state border.
Fuzuli residents have told APA that since the area controlled by
Iranian border guards is located on a height, fortification work can
be clearly seen from villages on the bank of the River Araz. Local
residents say that Iranian border guards are installing watchtowers on
the bank of the River Araz and reinforcing their border patrols.
The public relations department of the State Border Service has told
APA that they have no information about this.

AZG Armenian Daily #087, 13/05/200
Exhibition
`ARMENIA’S DAY’ EXHIBITED AT INTERNATIONAL BOOK EXPO IN BUENOS AIRES
Recently, the 32nd International Book Exhibition was held in Buenos
Aires on April 20-May 8. Millions of visitors from Argentina and other
countries attended the exhibition.
The exhibition was established in 1974 and till 1991 the Khrimian
Educational Fund initiated it. Besides the new publications and books’
exhibition, the expo also includes cultural
arrangements. Particularly, the visitors of the exhibition had the
opportunity to discuss the issues of the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and the Nagorno Karabakh issue with Baroness Caroline Cox in
the course of the expo. “Armenia’s Day” is an annual arrangement
within the framework of the expo. It was held on May 1. Over 1200
visitors attended “Armenia’s Day.” It’s worth emphasizing the
importance of “Armenia’s Day,” taking into account the fact that the
Turkish pavilion includes large exhibition of publications that deny
the historical events of the Armenian Genocide.
By Nana Petrosian

PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenia and Nigeria Develop Cooperation
12.05.2006 14:05 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today newly appointed Nigerian
Ambassador to Armenia Ibrahim Ganyama Abubakari
(residence in Tehran) handed his credentials to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian, reported RA
leader’s press service. Noting that the
Armenia-Nigeria relations are reduced to the
cooperation within the framework of international
organizations Robert Kocharian voiced assurance that
the accreditation of the first Nigerian Ambassador
will promote the development of bilateral relations
and clarification of possible ways of cooperation.

TURKISH PM SENDS LETTER TO HARPER
Josh Pringle
580 CFRA Radio, Canada
May 11 2006
The Turkish Prime Minister has reportedly sent a letter to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper.
The Globe and Mail reports Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
asked Harper not to recognize the Armenian genocide.
Instead, he is asking Canada to support an academic inquiry into the
mass killings.
Harper became the first Canadian Prime Minister to declare that the
deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians during the First World
War amounted to genocide.

SURB ZORAVAR CHAPEL CONSECRATED IN AKHALTSKHA
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 11 2006
AKHALKALAK, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The ceremony of
consecrating and opening the Surb Zoravar Chapel took place in the Ap
district of the city of Akhaltskha on May 9. According to the “A-Info”
agency, Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanian, the primate of the Virahayots
Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and Monk Babken Salbiyan, the
primacy vicar of Samtskhe-Javakhk held the anointment. The chapel was
built in the 19th century, further is was destroyed by Georgians. The
chapel was again restored by Armenian believers recently and was
called Zurb Zoravar after the anointment.

AZERI, ARMENIAN FMS TO MEET WITH OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS IN STRASBOURG
Author: E.Huseynov
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 10 1006
The Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet with the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs n Strasbourg. The Foreign Ministry told
Trend the meeting will be held in Strasbourg on 18-19 May within the
framework of a meeting of the Council of Europe Political Committee.
Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, has recently
stated that the mediators had some interesting ideas on the peaceable
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Minister noted that
the results of discussions would clarify the necessity for conduct
of a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.
Next-in-turn meeting of the Presidents can be held in the end of May
in a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO in Paris.