9 CHESS PLAYERS OF ARMENIA WIN AT PENULTIMATE STAGE OF EUROPEAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 19 2006
HERZEG NOVI, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The 8th stage meetings of the
European Youth Chess Championship being held in Herzeg Novi took place
on September 18. 9 from 17 representatives of Armenia had victories,
3 had losses and 5 chess players ended their meetings with drawn games.
After 8 stages, Zaven Andreasian (18 years old) has good possibility
to take the 3rd prize-winning place. He got 6 points from 8 possible
ones and is the 4th among 74 participants. Samvel Ter Sahakian (14
years old) and Susanna Gaboyan (10) who occupy the 6th place in their
age group have 6 points each from 8 possible ones.
The last, 9th stage meetings finish on late September 19.

A NUMBER OF STATE FIGURES AWARDED ORDERS AND MEDALS ON OCCASION OF 15th ANNIVERSARY OF RA INDEPENDENCE
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 19 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. By RA President Robert Kocharian’s
September 18 decrees, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of
proclamation of RA independence, for his great contribution to
establishment of statehood and development of economy, RA Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian was awarded St Mesrop Mashtots order.
By the President’s another decree of the same day, for his great
contribution to establishment of statehood, army building and
strengthening of homeland defence, RA Defence Minister Serge Sargsian
was awarded Tigran Mets order.
According to the report provided to Noyan Tapan from RA President’s
Press Office, RA NA Speaker Tigran Torosian, RA NA Vice-Speaker Vahan
Hovhannisian, member of RA NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations
Gurgen Arsenian and member of RA NA Standing Committee on Finance and
Credit, Budgetary and Economic Issues Karen Karapetian were awarded
1st degree medal For Services Rendered to the Homeland.

DONETSK: RUSSIAN SHOOTS ARMENIAN BUSINESSMAN
5tv.com, Ukraine
19.09.2006 17:04
Prosecutors in Donetsk have initiated criminal proceedings in the
Monday shooting of businessman Samvel Adamian in the eastern city. Both
Adamian and his would-be assassin are currently in hospital.
The shooting occurred after 3 PM outside of the offices of
Donbasnaftoprodukt – a firm widely believed to be owned by Adamian. He
was shot in the chest as he exited his car. Guards form the building
ran out upon hearing the shots and returned fire, injuring the
attacker. Police recovered two pistols, two passports and two mobile
phones at the seen of the crime. The possibility that a second
attacker took part in the shooting is being invesitgated. Donetsk
prosecutor Oleksandr Ol’mezov said that the injured assasin is a
citizen of the Russian Federation. Adamian is a leading member of
the Armenian Diaspora in Donetsk, who has himself reportedly been
convicted of crimes in the past. Adamian has also reportedly survived
an assassination attempt in the past.

SECOND ARMENIA-DIASPORA ECONOMIC FORUM STARTING IN YEREVAN
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006
The second Armenia-Diaspora Economic Forum will start in Yerevan
today. The official opening of the event, featuring Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan and Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen
Chshmarityan, will take place in Karen Demirchyan complex.
PanaArmenian EXPO universal exhibition will be held in the framework
of the forum.
A roundtable discussion on small and medium entrepreneurship situation
in Armenia will be held in the Ministry of Trade and Economic
Development. During the roundtable, Mr. Bernard Snoy, Coordinator of
OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (from Vienna) will present
the Armenian version of the Best Practice Guide for a Positive Business
and Investment Climate and SME Statistical Reference Book 2004-2005.

COURT HEARS MOTION TO DISMISS GENOCIDE DENIERS’ CASE
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006
In US District Court in Boston on Monday, Assistant Attorney General
William Porter argued for the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a
Turkish group and others seeking to reinsert genocide denial materials
into the Massachusetts school human rights curriculum guide. In
support of the Attorney General’s position, the Armenian Assembly
filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, and argued for
the rights of the defendants to recommend teaching the facts of the
Armenian Genocide.
The lawsuit, filed last year by the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations (ATAA), asserts that the Massachusetts Department of
Education’s decision to remove denialist materials in the school
curriculum guide amounts to “censoring” and therefore would be
a violation of the First Amendment. In court, Assistant Attorney
General Porter, who represented the Commonwealth, argued that the First
Amendment cannot be applied to statements by the government and said
that the Statute of Limitation requires that the case be dismissed.
Furthermore, the state pointed out that the plaintiffs have no
standing to sue since there was no harm suffered because students and
teachers may still independently access genocide denial information
from sources not recommended by the state’s curriculum guide.
“If the plaintiffs succeed with this lawsuit, there will be no stopping
point for the demands anyone can make for the inclusion in curriculum
recommendations, no matter how flawed or outrageous,” said Attorney
Arnie Rosenfeld of Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP,
who argued the Armenian Assembly’s Amicus together with Board of
Trustees Counselor Van Krikorian.
Rosenfeld and Krikorian warned that if the court accepts the
plaintiffs’ First Amendment claims, it would open the door for any
extremist group, such as Holocaust deniers, to challenge curriculum
matters in court.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

OSCE OFFICE ORGANIZES TRAINING COURSE FOR ARMENIAN ADVOCATES AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006
Some 60 advocates and public defenders took part in a training course
on advocacy skills and human rights that ended in Yerevan today.
Organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Armenian Chamber of
Advocates and the Council of Europe, the two-day event focused on the
concept and the application of articles 5 (the right to liberty and
security) and 6 (the right to a fair trial) of the European Convention
of Human Rights.
“Effective protection of human rights in court depends on the
professional preparedness of the defense lawyers,” said Silvia Pogolsa,
Human Rights Officer at the OSCE Office.
“This is particularly important due to the recently held qualification
examination, designed to enlarge the number of licensed advocates in
Armenia. We hope this training course will equip advocates and public
defenders with the necessary knowledge to be able to effectively
apply provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights in their
daily work.”

FM VARDAN OSKANIAN MET WITH OSCE COORDINATOR OF ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGY ISSUES BERNARD SNOY
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006
September 19 RA Foreign Minisyter Vardan Oskanian received Coordinator
of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Bernard Snoy.
The interlocutors discussed the accomplishment of joint economic and
ecologic programs of RA Government and the OSCE Office in Yerevan.
The guest confirmed the readiness of the structure under his
supervision to promote the accomplishment of various economic and
ecologic initiatives in Armenia.
The parties turned to issues connected with the OSCE Mission to arrive
in the region for investigating the fires.

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER CONGRATULATES ARMENIANS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 19 2006
The Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement on
Monday, congratulating the 15th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.
California State Administration told “ArmInfo” that the Governor’s
message says, in particular: “I send my warmest greetings to those
celebrating the 15th anniversary of independence. It is always
important for people to jointly rejoice over their legacy and on
this festive day I have the advantage of sharing my joy with the
American Armenian community. You enrich our country and especially
our State with your hard work, the high spirit of serving the country
and diverse cultural traditions.
I’m grateful for your exceptional contribution to the State of
California.
“Paying tribute to our predecessors helps us better understand
ourselves and to value the culture and customs of the peoples, who
build our golden State,” Schwarzenegger writes.
“On behalf of the people of California I ask to accept my warm wishes
on this meaningful holiday and for future success,” the Governor’s
statement says.

SHAHNAZARIAN: AUTHORITIES LOOK AT DRAGON LIKE A RABBIT AND DO NOTHING
Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 19 2006
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Until 2006
all the processes connected with the Nagorno Karabakh problem went
“in a direction bad for us,” whereas since 2006 spring they started
to go “in a very bad direction.” Davit Shahnazarian, member of the
Board of the Armenian National Movement (ANM) Party, expressed such
a viewpoint at the September 19 political dispute.
In D.Shahnazarian’s words, Armenia’s foreign policy already resembles
“a defeated game” (NT a game of chess is meant here): RA Foreign
Ministry declared that if the issue is moved to UN, the Armenian
side will stop the negotiations and the next day it was found out
that the issue “On Situation in Azerbaijan’s Occupied Territories”
had been already placed on UN agenda with Armenia’s consent. And
this, in D.Shahnazarian’s words, means that Armenia for the first
time officially admitted the territories’ being occupied.
The ANM Board member also said that the Armenian authorities will not
manage to prove even to the international community that the document
proposed by the OSCE Co-chairs, in particular, representative of U.S.
Matthew Bryza, was declined by Azerbaijan and not by the two
countries. “With their policy our authorities resemble a rabbit that
without exerting any effort looks at a dragon and does nothing,”
Shahnazarian declared.
Today’s approach to the Nagorno Karabakh settlement, in the speaker’s
words, “by 90% resembles the stage-by-stage approach proposed in
1997.” And in general, no Armenian political force has a precise
position in the issue of NKR.
As Davit Shahnazarian affirmed, “the only way out of this situation
is to get rid of the current authorities, their leader, criminal
Robert Kocharian.” He said that he voices term “criminal” addressed
to Kocharian not as an insult, but as a legal estimation.
Touching upon appeals of some opposition forces to start struggle
against criminogenic elements, the speaker emphasized: “Different
movements against the so-called crime have started. If these initiators
do not declare that criminal N 1 of Armenia is Robert Kocharian, so,
this is a political order.”

DIASPORA MUST ASK FINANCIAL REPORTING AGAINST INVESTMENT, FORUM PARTICIPANT SAYS
Panorama.am
17:25 19/09/06
“Armenia cannot help the Diaspora. Under present conditions,
the Diaspora must help Armenia and without preconditions. The only
precondition must be financial reporting against the investment made,”
Gevorg Bardakchyan, the head of Armenian Studies at the Michigan
University, told the Third Armenia-Diaspora Forum today. In his words,
until today the cooperation between Armenia and Diaspora has been
“satisfactory” because only 25% of Diaspora Armenians have made
any investment in Armenia. Concurrently, in USA there are many high
rank officials and excellent experts who refuse to make investment
in Armenia for different reasons, he said. The speaker thinks all
possible means must be used to attract their potential, including
media and embassies.