Lebanon’s Air Blockade Lifted but Sea Still Closed
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2006 13:15 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Israel lifted its air blockade of Lebanon yesterday
after eight weeks, reported AFP quoting Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign
Ministry spokesman. The first airliner from Paris with 150 passengers
aboard landed at Rafik al-Hariri International Airport in Beirut.
Israel did not carry out its pledge to lift the sea blockade at
the same time, citing the inability of a UN-backed multinational
peacekeeping force to deploy enough ships off the coast to guarantee
the arms embargo would remain intact. Prime Minister of Israel Ehud
Olmert said in a statement Wednesday that United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan had assured him that French, Italian, British, and
Greek vessels would monitor the coast until the German Navy deployed
in roughly two weeks.

Armenian ombudsman condemns attack on journalist
Arminfo
7 Sep 06
Yerevan, 7 September: The 6 September attack on the editor of Iravunk
newspaper, Ovanes Galadzhyan, is another attempt on freedom of speech,
Armenian ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan has said in a statement.
According to Armenia’s main rights campaigner, attacks on journalists
and creating obstacles to their work might inflict serious damage on
our country’s standing and threaten the full exercise of freedom and
access to information in Armenia. Arutyunyan called on the Armenian
law-enforcement agencies to be consistent and expressed confidence
that any act of violence against representatives of the media will
not go unpunished and the culprits will be punished with the full
severity of the law.

Armenians of Spain Call upon Parliament to Recognize Armenian Genocide
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2006 17:01 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian community of Spain called upon Spanish
MPs Rosa M. Bonas and Joan Puigcercos to open discussions on the
Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The deputies appealed with
a corresponding interpellation to the Foreign Relations Committee
and other MPs to recognize the Armenian Genocide as a crime against
humanity. Later Rosa Bonas told Anatoly Turkish news agency, “We’ll
make changes in the proposal by taking out an article pressing Ankara
to recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
At the same time she said that she always has a special attitude to
national minorities nut learned about the Armenian Genocide only
after the appeal of the Armenian community. For his part, Turkish
Ambassador to Spain Volkan Vural stated that if the discussions open
they will damage the Spanish-Turkish relations.

AZG Armenian Daily #171, 08/09/2006
Middle East
JEWISH MINISTER STATES WAR AGAINST IRAN IS INEVITABLE
Jaakov Edry, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, said in
the interview to a German newspaper that Iran should
be inevitably attacked. He said that the military
operation could be carried out before the end of the
tenure of US President George Bush.
Thus, the aim of the “limited” military operation will
be the annihilation of the components of Iran’s
nuclear program. Edry stated that USA should spare no
efforts to settle this issue.
“As the Iranian authorities emphasize the importance
of both armed forces and the oil factor, there is no
choice left,” he said.
“The only way out is the military settlement. The
sooner it begins, the better. It will be much more
complicated in the future, as the Iranians will
isolate their nuclear industry and that will be more
difficult to annihilate their weapon,” the Jewish
minister underscored.
By Petros Keshishian

Babacan vows to keep EU process on track
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Sept 7 2006
/ Brussels
Turkey’s chief European Union negotiator Ali Babacan on Tuesday
dismissed the European Parliament’s harshly critical new report on
Turkey, vowing to keep the country’s EU process on track.
Stressing that it’s wrong to say the Union doesn’t want Turkey by
only looking at this or that report, Babacan said, “Such reports may
include mistakes which might be corrected or not. But the important
thing for us is to keep up with the reform process, which is in
Turkey’s interests.”
The EP’s toughly worded report, prepared by Dutch MEP Camiel Eurlings
and approved by the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called on Ankara
to recognize the Armenian genocide claims before becoming an EU
member. It also included criticisms on the Cyprus issue, a slowdown
in the EU reform process, the situation in southeast, problems with
religious minorities, cultural rights and civilian-military relations.
Turkey’s chief EU negotiator also underlined that Ankara continues
to be committed to its EU accession process aimed at full membership.
“It will also take some key steps before the European Commission
announces Turkey’s progress report,” he added.
Babacan made the remarks following talks with Dutch Economy Minister
Joop Wijn late Tuesday in the Netherlands, the first stop of Babacan’s
European tour which began as part of an effort to dispel EU criticisms
that he and the Turkish government have become indifferent to the
country’s membership process.
Babacan headed to Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday to meet key European
figures. He met with Belgian Foreign Ministry State Secretary for
European Affairs Didier Donfut and will have crucial talks with EU
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn today in which Turkey’s EU
prospects and the pace of its reform process will be discussed.
Rehn is expected to urge Babacan to keep up with the reform process and
press Turkey to approve the Ankara protocol which extends the Customs
Union to the 10 new members of the Union, including the Greek Cypriot
administration. For his part, Babacan is expected to brief Rehn on the
latest reforms that have been made in Turkey and underline the future
contribution from and vital importance of Turkey’s membership in the
Union, above all for the creation of a dialogue among civilizations.

Armenian journalists condemn attack on newspaper editor
Mediamax news agency
7 Sep 06
Yerevan, 7 September: A number of journalistic organizations of
Armenia issued a statement today, demanding that the law-enforcement
agencies find and punish the culprits and organizers of the attack
on the editor of Iravunk newspaper, Ovanes Galadzhyan.
“Our colleague, the editor of Iravunk newspaper, Ovanes Galadzhyan,
was attacked and beaten up on the morning of 6 September. Threats
and violence against journalists and the mass media have become more
frequent in the recent period, however, the culprits have not been
found and punished yet. We have repeatedly stated that unpunished
attempts on freedom of speech and the press generate new crimes:
people who are not capable of conducting a civilized dialogue take the
path of intimidating journalists and the media,” the statement says.
“It seems that attacks on the media during a political crisis are a
sad tradition in our country. Such an attitude to the media, which is
gaining momentum in the run-up to the parliamentary election, endangers
the transparency of the electoral process. We condemn another act of
violence against the journalist and demand that the law-enforcement
agencies find and punish those who executed and organized this evil
act,” the statement said. The statement was signed by the Yerevan
Press Club, the Union of Journalists of Armenia, Internews Armenia,
the committee to protect freedom of speech, the Helsinki Committee
of Armenia and the Centre for Law and Freedom.

U.N. Draft Resolution on Karabakh Pursues Precise Political Aims
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.09.2006 16:50 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The draft resolution at hand addresses an issue,
which we thought had been brought to a close, two weeks ago, through
discussions with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Minsk Group Co-chairs
and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative. A decision
was taken to send a mission of experts under the OSCE to assess the
fires,” said Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to
the United Nations, Ambassador Armen Martirosyan at the 98th plenary
sitting of the U.N. General Assembly’s 60th session.
“The authorities of Nagorno Karabagh had already accepted this
proposal, and Armenia was certainly ready to use its good offices to
facilitate such a mission. It was our understanding that Azerbaijan
had also agreed.
Given all this, it was surprising to see a draft resolution circulating
at the UN on this same issue, especially since it called for a parallel
mission under the UN auspices.
This approach was unacceptable. We considered such a step to be an
obstacle to continuing negotiations.
And, since it was clearly intended to pursue other political ends,
Armenia opposed this motion.
However, as a result of our consultations with the Minsk Group
Co-chairs, we have come to agreement on a text that simply reiterates
support for the OSCE mission. In this regard we would like to welcome
the readiness of all the parties to negotiate in the spirit of
compromise under the able and very effective mediation of the Minsk
Group Co-chairs.
Nevertheless, although we support the content of the agreement, we
continue to remain opposed to the general idea of this agenda item
and a UN resolution under it. That is the reason Armenia dissociates
itself from the consensus on this resolution,” he said, reported the
RA MFA press office.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YOUNG PARTY MEMBERS SUPPORT JOURNALISTS
A1+
[07:42 pm] 08 September, 2006
The members of the youth wing of the Orinats Yerkir party decided to
make a statement of complaint in connection with the act of violence
against editor-in-chief of the newspaper Hovhannes Galajyan carried
out two days ago.
The statement made by the party says that the incident is the result of
the impunity of the authors of recent similar acts of violence. The
OYP is worried about the fact that suchlike incidents happen on
the threshold of the Parliamentary elections which jeopardize the
organization of free and fair elections.
To the surprise of the organizers, the journalists did not show great
interest in the discussion. Instead, the youth wings of a number
of parties showed concern for it, leaving aside the difference of
political views.
After the discussion the organizers will adopt a statement which will
be sent to the RA Office of the Public Prosecutor.

ANOTHER DRAFT ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
A1+
[08:15 pm] 08 September, 2006
Two days ago the legislative body of State Cordoba of Argentina
unanimously adopted draft N9315 which announces April 24 as the
Memory day of the Genocide realized by the Ottoman Empire against
the Armenian nation.
The draft created by representative of the faction “Union for the
sake of Cordoba” Alejandra Vigo mentions that “the cruelties carried
out against the Armenian nation by the government of the Ottoman
Empire and Turkey before, after and during the WWI are called the
Armenian Genocide”.
The law will come into force after being ratified by the Cordoba
governor within 10 days.

Gerald Gafeschian and Eduardo Ernekian awarded Saint Mesrop Mashtots order
ArmRadio.am
08.09.2006 12:00
According to RA President Robert Kocharyan’s decree of September
8 Saint Mesrop Mashtots order was awarded to Gerald Gafeschian and
Eduardo Ernekian for valuable service to Motherland.
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of declaration of Armenia’s
independence Mkhitar Gosh medals were awarded to RA Ambassadors
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China and
the Federal Republic of Germany Vasili Ghazaryan and Karine Ghazinyan
for considerable service in the diplomatic sphere.
Acceding to another decree of the President, Head of the MFA Department
on ties with Diaspora Jivan Movsisyan was granted the title of RA
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress