ERDOGAN WELCOMES SHAFAK’S ACQUITTAL
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2006 15:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
welcomed the acquittal of renowned Turkish novelist Elif Shafak in the
case for which she was accused of insulting Turkishness. PM Erdogan
told reporters on Thursday that he was happy that Shafak was acquitted
in the controversial case. Recalling that he phoned Shafak yesterday to
congratulate her on the birth of her baby daughter, Erdogan stated that
he exchanged his views with her on the case. Erdogan also signaled an
amendment on the much debated Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code,
under which many well-known Turkish writers and authors had been
tried or sued. In response to a question on whether the government
thought of an amendment on the controversial article, Erdogan pointed
out that it would be possible provided that the ruling and opposition
parties reach an agreement, reported Zaman.

“OWNERS OF HISTORY”
A1+
[04:47 pm] 22 September, 2006
First RA Prime Minister Vazgen Manoukyan informed in “Mirror” club
today that he did not participate in the demonstration of the 15th
anniversary of Independence as he was not invited. First RA President
Levon Ter-Petrosyan and first RA Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian
were not invited either.
“They feel like they are the owners of history”, Vazgen Manoukyan said.
Let us remind you that former Minister of Defense Vagharshak
Haroutyunyan and former Foreign Ministers Vahram Papazyan and Alexander
Arzoumanyan had not received invitations either. As for medals and
awards many people got in connection with the 15th anniversary of
independence, Vazgen Manoukyan said that although the process of
award-giving itself is a positive phenomenon, “for today’s authorities
the medals are a way of forming their team and not the reflection of
objective reality”.

RF PROSECUTOR ACCEPTED THE “NATIONAL” CAUSE OF CRIMES
A1+
[03:35 pm] 22 September, 2006
For the last 12 months five criminal cases have been initiated in
the RF Prosecutor’s Office for crimes committed because of national
discrimination. All the five of them were against Armenians. RF Public
Prosecutor Yuri Chayka who was in Yerevan on a two-day official visit
confirmed the fact.
“Unfortunately there are really suchlike crimes. All of them are
halted; moreover, I have created a department in the Prosecutor’s
Office which must realize control in order to preserve federal security
and national relations”, Mr. Chayka mentioned.
The delegation with Mr. Chayka at the head arrived in Armenia on
September 21 in order to “refresh” the cooperation between the RA
and RF Prosecutors. Up to now the prosecutors cooperated according to
an agreement signed in 1993. Today the RA and RF Public Prosecutors
held a joint session and then signed an agreement about cooperation
of the Prosecutor’s Offices of both countries.
The agreement mentions the main directions of cooperation of the
Prosecutors, regulates the forms of cooperation, clears out the forms
and orders of rejections, etc.

ANDRE’S CHIEF SPONSOR IS GOD HIMSELF
A1+
[03:54 pm] 22 September, 2006
Singer Andre who represented Armenia in “Eurovision 2006” announces
that he does not belong to any religious sect. He told a press
conference today that although he was born in an atheist family,
he considers God his chief sponsor.
“During the Karabakh war when I was 8 I sang my first song called
“Prayer” with Christ’s picture in my hands. I sang and prayed God to
protect my father who fought in war and to give us victory”, Andre
said. He mentioned that he does not avoid saying that he believes
in God, but that doesn’t mean that he belongs to a sect. “Everyone
believes in some thing. Some believe in the coffee cup, others in
stars. I believe in God”.
By the way, Andre was surprised to find out that his September
26concert in Vazgen Sargsyan stadium has a number of sponsors –
major and famous firms. According to him, no one has ever sponsored
his concerts.
The majority of the tickets of the concert has already been sold
(11 thousand from 14). Andre promised the football fans that the
stadium will not be spoilt.
There will also be guests in the concert: singer Varvara from Russia,
Elena Lisnetski who represented Macedonia in “Eurovision 2006” and
others. During the concert Andre will represent his new CD which is
called “A Thousand Times”. After the Yerevan concert Andre will leave
for the United States and a number of European countries in order to
give concerts. He will return to Yerevan on December 12.
He also mentioned that the video of his song “Without you love” is
still broadcast by a number of European TC Channels. Besides, he was
invited to the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine as an
honored guest.
Let us add that on September 2 in connection with the 15th anniversary
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic the National Assembly of NKR awarded
Andre a medal as a singer devoted to his homeland. Andre who is from
Artsakh by birth accepted the medal proudly.

INVESTIGATION OF ARMENIAN JET CRASH GOING ON
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2006 13:34 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The investigation of the Armenian A-320 jet crash
has not been completed yet, Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chayka
told reporter in Yerevan today. “The investigation is not over yet
and a number of examinations are being carried out.
Presently an aerotechnical forensic examination is being conducted to
reveal possible faults of the aircraft, violations of rules by the
crew and flying control officers. Now we are awaiting the results
and then decide on those guilty,” he said.
For his part, Armenian Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan emphasized
that the case serves as example of close cooperation between the
prosecution offices of the two states. “After the criminal case was
initiated our investigators departed for the crash site and held
a number of examinations jointly with the Russian team,” he said,
reported newsarmenia.ru

TURKIC STATES GOING TO UNITE AGAINST ARMENIA?
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2006 13:47 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The 10th congress of Turkic states, which completed
its work in Antalya today, has passed a decision on the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. The document says that the position of all the
Turkic states in unanimous – Armenia should “quit the seized Azeri
lands without any preconditions.” “The Turkic states will exert
every effort for the return of million of Azeris to their homes,” it
says. The resolution also notes that “if Armenia doesn’t abandon the
territories the whole Turkic world will join efforts for the purpose.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PROSECUTORS SIGN AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.09.2006 13:52 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The meeting of the joint board of the Armenian and
Russian Prosecutor Offices presided by Yuri Chayka and Aghvan Hovsepyan
was held in Yerevan September 22. The RA Prosecutor General remarked
that the agenda of the meeting included issues of cooperation and
legal assistance and the outcomes of collaboration in the field. For
his part Yuri Chayka said, “There are many tasks demanding a joint
decision – struggle against organized crime, corruption, illegal
migration, money laundering and so on.” The meeting participants
heard the reports given by the representatives of the two offices,
afterwards the heads of the departments signed the Agreement on
Cooperation between the Offices of Prosecutor General of Armenia and
Russia. The sides voiced assurance that the document will promote
close and efficient cooperation, reported IA Regnum.

OSKANYAN REPRESENTS ARMENIA
A1+
[12:13 pm] 22 September, 2006
Today RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan will leave for Berlin to
participate in the international forum “Bertelsmann”.
Minister Oskanyan will leave Berlin for New York in order to
participate in the session of the UN 61st Assembly General. On
September 25 the Foreign Minister will make a speech.
In New York Minister Oskanyan will meet a number of officials, as
well as the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs.
Oskanyan will return to Armenia on September 27.
By the way, in the international forum “Bertelsmann” Azerbaijan will
be represented by President Ilham Aliev.

ALIEV WILL LEAVE FOR GERMANY
A1+
[04:22 pm] 21 September, 2006
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev will leave for Germany on a
two-day business visit on September 22-23. He will participate in the
international conference titled “Bertelsmann” in which delegations
from a number of countries will take part.
According to day.az, within the framework of the visit Aliev will
meet federal chancellor Angela Merkel.
Novruz Mamedov, the head of the Azeri President’s administration,
announced that the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be
one of the main themes of discussion. He mentioned that in comparison
to the other European countries “Germany is more unbiased when it
comes to the Karabakh conceit”.
During the visit a document will be signed about the cooperation of
Azerbaijan with the EU.

THE RAILWAY WILL NOT BYPASS ARMENIA
A1+
[01:01 pm] 22 September, 2006
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly today praised a key Senate
committee for affirming U.S policy in the South Caucasus by prohibiting
funding for a bypass rail link sponsored by the Turkish and Azerbaijani
governments and aimed at excluding Armenia from economic and regional
transportation opportunities.
“Armenia is a valued friend of the United States and our government
ought not to be supporting programs or initiatives in the South
Caucasus that exclude that country from participation,” said
Santorum. “The manager’s amendment adopted today by the Committee on
Banking will make sure such a scenario does not happen.”
“We cannot continue to stoke the embers of regional conflict by
supporting projects that deliberately exclude one of the region’s most
important members,” said Menendez. “Fundamentally, this amendment is
about fairness and about inclusion, rather than exclusion.
With this amendment, we are sending a simple message — that we believe
that the United States should support an integrated and inclusive
approach to economic and regional development in the Caucasus region.”