RUSSIA HAS NO CLEAR MECHANISM FOR FIGHTING XENOPHOBIA – ABRAMIAN

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 30, 2006 Tuesday

Modern Russia does not have a clear mechanism for the suppression
of xenophobia, Russian Armenian Union President Ara Abramian said on
the Ekho Moskvy radio on Tuesday.

“The nationalities question is acute. It is necessary to pool efforts
for elaborating common mechanisms of the suppression of xenophobia. I
call on all governmental agencies, religious and public organizations,
and citizens to work together for the solution of this problem and
speak of it daily,” he said.

It is necessary to develop a governmental and public policy for
educating the younger generation, he said.

Ethnic Armenian Vigen Abramiants was killed in the Moscow metro
on April 24, the Day of the Armenian Genocide, he said. Back then
Armenian young held a protest on Moscow streets. “Yet I think that
such protests are no way to fight xenophobia. They will not reduce
the crime rate,” Abramian said.

“A frank dialog with schoolchildren and college students is a way to
resolve the problem,” he said.

Another murder was perpetrated on Tuesday. Artur Sardarian, 19,
was killed near the Klyazma station of the Moscow railroad.

ARMENIA NOT TO TAKE PART IN MEETING OF CIS DEFENCE MINISTERS
by Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 30, 2006 Tuesday

Armenia will not take part in the meeting of the Council of the CIS
Defence Ministers due in Baku on May 31.

The Azerbaijani authorities failed to provide guarantees of ensuring
the security of the Armenian delegation, a source at the Armenian
Defence Ministry said.

“This fact once again proves that Azerbaijan is unable to fulfill its
obligations and guarantee security to participants in an international
event it will host,” the source said.

The Armenian Defence Ministry hopes for an official reaction from
the Council of the CIS Defence Ministers.

ARMENIAN CITIZEN KILLED IN EL-TRAIN IN MOSCOW REGION

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 30, 2006 Tuesday

A 19-year old citizen of Armenia was killed in an el-train in the
Moscow region. A criminal case into the murder has been opened under
Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code (murder for reasons of ethnic
hatred), a source from the Prosecutor’s Office of the Moscow region
told Tass on Tuesday.

Onlookers’ testimony was used to draw an identikit of suspects involved
in the crime.

The Armenian victim, Artur Sardaryan, was killed when he was returning
from Moscow to the town of Pushkin north of Moscow on May 25, said
lawyer for the victim’s family Simon Tsaturyan.

Unknown assailants stabbed the victim in the neck and heart when the
train was approaching the Klyasma railway station. The victim died
on the spot. The lawyer said there were two assailants at least who
attacked the man in the el- train. There were some twenty passengers
who witnessed the incident in the train car.

THIRD TRAIN WITH WEAPONS FROM RF BASE IN GEORGIA LEAVES FOR RF
by Tengiz Pachkoria

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 30, 2006 Tuesday

The third train with weapons and military hardware from a Russian base
in Akhalkalaki has left the Georgian district center of Tsalka for
Russia on Tuesday, a source in the Russian troops in the Transcaucasia
told Itar-Tass. The train will cross the Georgian-Azerbaijani border
in the afternoon on Tuesday. The train will supply to Russia 15
self-propelled howitzers, 50 mortars and spare parts for them.

The train consists of 17 wagons. A patrol unit is guarding the train.

A Georgian military unit ensures security of the train on its way in
Georgia. The first train with weapons and military hardware from the
Russian base in Akhalkalaki left Georgia on May 15, the second train –
on May 23, the fourth train will go from Tsalka on June 6.

Under the Georgian-Russian agreements the withdrawal of the Russian
base from Akhalkalaki will end in 2007. Most weapons and military
hardware are pulled out to Russia, some of them to the Russian military
base in Gyumri, Armenia. The withdrawal of the Russian base deployed
in Batumi will end in 2008.

GEORGIA HAS NOT SIGNED ANY DOCUMENT
Source: Svobodnaya Gruziya (Tbilisi), May 26, 2006, p. EV

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 29, 2006 Monday

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Baramidze Confirms That His
Country Seeks To Join Nato

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Baramidze confirmed that the
main goal of his country is to join NATO. He noted that Georgia plans
to leave the CIS.

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Baramidze confirmed that the
main goal of his country is to join NATO.

At the same time, he noted that “no official decisions have
been made”. He said that President Mikhail Saakashvili asked the
government to examine the advisability of Georgia’s membership in the
CIS. Baramidze made his statement in Dushhanbe at the meeting of the
Council of the CIS Prime Ministers on Thursday.

He said: “Tbilisi hoped that the CIS would make it possible to
solve conflicts and improve economic relations. However, this has
not happened. Our hopes have not been justified, which is why it’s
senseless to remain a member of the CIS.” Tbilisi intends to develop
bilateral contacts with the CIS.

He said: “We have determined our path. We seek to integrate into NATO
and the EU. We are now working according to the individual plan of
partnership with NATO. We are reforming our democratic institutions
in compliance with NATO’s standards.”

On the participation of Georgian servicemen in the anti-terrorist
operation in Iraq, Baramidze said that “Georgia considers it necessary
to support the operation in Iraq. Peace and stability in Iraq coincide
with Georgia’s interests.” (…)

By the way, Baramidze did not sign any document at the meeting. At the
same time, he submitted the Georgian president’s statement regarding
the CIS to the secretariat of the organization.

Georgy Baramidze met with Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan
at the meeting of the Council.

(…)

They expressed satisfaction with the progress of revision of the
Georgian-Armenian border. The commission for the demarcation of
the border will be held in Yerevan in August. On the problems of
Armenian people living in Samtse-Javakhetia, Andranik Margaryan
stated that Armenia is prepared to help Georgia realize the program
for restoration of the infrastructure of this region. The Armenian
prime minister stated that it’s advisable to use local residents and
businessmen in construction works in order to relax tension.

KARABAKH : CHIRAC REAFFIRME L’URGENCE D’UN REGLEMENT NEGOCIE DU CONFLIT

Agence France Presse
30 mai 2006 mardi 11:16 AM GMT

Le president Jacques Chirac a reaffirme mardi l’urgence d’un reglement
negocie du conflit sur l’enclave disputee du Nagorny Karabakh, en
recevant le president d’Azerbaïdjan Ilham Aliev, a rapporte l’Elysee.

Lors de cet entretien d’une heure, M. Chirac “a souligne qu’il n’y
avait pas d’alternative a un reglement pacifique negocie et a rappele
l’importance de la paix pour l’Azerbaïdjan, l’Armenie et toute la
region dans son ensemble”, selon l’Elysee.

L’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan se disputent la region du Nagorny Karabakh,
une enclave habitee en majorite par des Armeniens et qui a fait
secession de l’Azerbaïdjan après un conflit meurtrier debute a la
fin des annees 1980.

Un cessez-le-feu est intervenu en 1994 mais la situation reste tendue
en depit des efforts de mediation de l’OSCE.

M. Chirac “a fortement reaffirme les principes de la declaration
commune du groupe de Minsk reuni a Erevan le 25 mai”, a ajoute
l’Elysee.

Dans cette declaration, le groupe de Minsk de l’Organisation pour
la securite et la cooperation en Europe (OSCE), co-preside par les
Etats-Unis, la Russie et la France, avait souligne que “le temps
est desormais venu pour chaque partie d’arriver a un accord sur les
principes de base du reglement du conflit”.

La France avait accueilli en fevrier des pourparlers au château de
Rambouillet, près de Paris, entre Ilham Aliev et Robert Kotcharian,
le president armenien. Ces discussions a huis clos et en tete-a-tete
s’etaient soldees par une absence totale de progrès.

D’autre part, MM. Chirac et Aliev ont eu “un echange de vues sur la
situation regionale et notamment sur l’Iran”, l’Azerbaïdjan assurant
la presidence de l’Organisation de la Conference islamique (OCI),
a indique l’Elysee.

–Boundary_(ID_qfS+GtBxZqQqaOu4degSmw)- –

UN JEUNE ARMENIEN TUE PAR DES EXTREMISTES RUSSES PRèS DE MOSCOU

Agence France Presse
30 mai 2006 mardi

Un jeune Russe d’origine armenienne a ete tue a coups de couteau
par un groupe de jeunes gens a bord d’un train de banlieue près de
Moscou, a annonce mardi la radio Echo de Moscou citant un avocat,
Simon Tsatourian.

Selon les temoins de l’incident, survenu le 25 mai, les agresseurs
ont attaque Artur Sardarian, 19 ans, en criant “Gloire a la Russie”,
a declare l’avocat.

Les assaillants ont ensuite stoppe le train en actionnant le frein
d’urgence et se sont enfuis.

Originaire d’Azerbaïdjan, Sardarian vivait dans une ville de la grande
banlieue de Moscou, Pouchkino.

L’Union des Armeniens de Russie a confirme le meurtre a l’AFP,
tandis que la police de Moscou s’est refusee a toute declaration,
indiquant que l’enquete se poursuivait.

Le 22 avril, un meurtre similaire d’un jeune Russe d’origine
armenienne, Bagan Abramiants, a ete perpetre dans une station de metro
a Moscou. La victime, touchee par un coup de couteau dans la poitrine,
a ete tuee sur le coup.

Me Tsatourian, qui represente la famille d’Abramiants, a estime
que, dans les deux cas, les mobiles racistes du crime “ne faisaient
aucun doute”.

–Boundary_(ID_C4nIVMCgHmdTnKMDOq9KmQ)–

PARIS HOPES FOR PROGRESS IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2006 16:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Official Paris, alongside Washington and Moscow,
hopes for advancements in Nagorno Karabakh conflict peaceful
settlement, says a release of the French Embassy in Azerbaijan issued
on occasion of Azeri president Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Paris.

Mentioning talks with French president Jacques Chirac and Senate
speaker Christian Ponselet within the visit program, Embassy officials
state the Nagorno Karabakh problem is on the agenda along with
international and regional issues.

Following the meeting of Azeri and Armenian Presidents in Rambouillet
on February 10 and 11, France along with other co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group increased efforts in order to arrange the next meeting
between the parties in early June. To that end high officials of
foreign ministries of co-chairing states, as well as co-chairs
themselves had visited Baku and Yerevan in late May, reports Trend.

ARA ABRAHAMYAN: MURDER OF YOUNG ARMENIAN IN MOSCOW – PROVOCATION ON EVE OF G8 SUMMIT

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.05.2006 19:04 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today leader of the Union of Armenians of Russia
(UAR) Ara Abrahamyan stated he considers the next murder of an
Armenian as a provocation by extremist forces on the eve of G8 summit
in Saint Petersburg, “It is apparently a provocation on the eve of G8
summit by dark forces, which do not want Russia to follow the way of
democratization and civilization.” However, Abrahamyan does not see
“a direct attack against Armenians” in that crime. “Fascists do not
choose people by nationality, they choose their victims by color of
eyes and that of skin. In his opinion, it is necessary to organize
a round table discussion over xenophobia issues with participation
of national public unions and representatives of the authorities,
first of all law-enforcement bodies.

Ethnic Armenian Artur Sardaryan, 19, is killed in Moscow. He was
attacked in a Moscow electric train near Klyazma station on May
25. However, it was known about the incident only now. Two persons,
who attacked him, stabbed him with a knife in his neck from behind,
cutting carotid artery, then stabbed 5 times in his chest in the
heart area. Then they stopped the train by means of the emergency
brake and fled, Russian media report.

A FIRE IN THE CENTRE OF YEREVAN

A1+
[05:25 pm] 30 May, 2006

At present 6 houses in the district Kond are on fire.

6 fire brigades have arrived on the scene. But they haven’t been able
to put out the fire so far.

According to the reporter of “A1+,” the cars cannot get to the fire
hearth because the houses are rather close to each other. But the
firemen were able to take the rubber tubes to the fire hearth.

The residents are trying to put out the fire by pouring water from
buckets. According to them, the fire started in one of the houses
because of the gas flowing and spread at a terrible speed. But
the representative of gas service noted that there isn’t natural
gas there and gas couldn’t be the main cause of fire. Some of the
residents assume that the fire was caused by electricity. The fire
can be extinguished more quickly by a helicopter. By the way, most
of the dwellers of the burning houses were out the moment it started
and on returning home they found out that they no longer have houses.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress