Artyom Movsisyan: Human factor was the cause of the A-320 crash

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 14:32
Unfortunately we can state that the reason for the A-320 crash was the
human factor ` the uncoordinated actions of the crew during the last
17 seconds of the flight. However, it’s not clear so far what was the
cause of such activity of the pilot, and it needs to be clarified,
Head of the Chief Board of the Civil Aviation of Armenia Artyom
Movsisyan said during a press conference, commenting on the
conclusions of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) on the causes
of the Armavia A-320 crash.
`It’s not clear for us what served as a reason for the uncoordinated
actions of the crew, since the modeling of the flight in Toulouse
revealed that during the last 17 seconds the flight of the plane was
stable. Suddenly, 17 seconds before the crash, the actions of the
crewmembers became uncoordinated. Possibly, this was connected with
the pilot’s health condition, which worsened under extreme
circumstances or the state of mind caused by the actions of the flying
control officer, or even the loss of orientation in the space,’
Movsisyan said. He added that decoding of the voice recorder revealed
that the crew was extremely nervous and discontent with the activities
of the flying control officer. However, he avoided providing a direct
answer to the question whether the Civil Aviation Committee agrees
with the conclusion of the Interstate Aviation Committee that the
responsibility for the accident falls on the crew. He noted only that
the information in the IAC conclusion corresponds to the data of the
A-320 flight recorders.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Grand Master of Armenia Lilit Lazarian beats world champion Antonetta
Stefanova

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 15:02
Grand Master of Armenia Lilit Lazarian celebrated her first victory
in the 5th round of the celebrated `Northern Ural Cup ` 2006′ chess
tournament held in Krasnoturinsk, Russia. She bet world champion,
Bulgarian Antonetta Stefanova and with 2.5 points she currently shares
the 3rd to 6th places with Russian Nadezhda Kozineva, Georgian Maya
Chiburanidze and Antonetta Stefanova. After the five rounds of the
tournament Katerina Lachno is leading with 4.5 points. The second is
Chinese Zhu Chen representing Qatar.

“Mika” out of the contest for the UEFA Cup

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 15:15
July 27 `Mika’ football team of Ashtarak lost 0:1 to the Swiss `Young Boys’
in the response game of the first qualification round of the UEFA Cup, thus
staying out from the further competition.
To remind, in the first game in Yerevan `Mika’ lost with the score of 1:3.
Thus, all of the four Armenian teams left the race for 2006 European Cups
from first qualification rounds.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ambassador to Armenia designate responds to Senators’ questions

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 15:43
As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee weighs the nomination of
Richard E. Hoagland as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia, the
Foreign Service officer says that if confirmed, he will uphold the
President’s policies with respect to the Armenian Genocide, which
neither denies nor properly acknowledges the events of 1915.
Several Committee Members including Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Russell Feingold (D-WI), John Kerry (D-MA) and
Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) submitted a series of questions to Hoagland
following the June 28 proceedings. The lawmakers asked Hoagland to
clarify US policy on the Armenian Genocide and to explain what, if
anything, the State Department has directed him to say publicly on the
Armenian Genocide.
“The State Department has not directed me to make or avoid specific
statements about the tragic events that occurred at the end of the
Ottoman Empire, but has rather provided me with information on the
President’s policy which, if confirmed, I will represent faithfully,”
Hoagland stated in his response to Kerry. Hoagland did not deviate in
his response to Committee Members with similar policy questions.
Kerry also asked Hoagland to explain why the Administration refuses to
recognize the crimes as genocide. Hoagland provided the following:
“The US believes that the question of how to characterize these
horrific events is of such enormous human significance that it should
not be determined on the basis of politics, but through heartfelt
introspection among academics, civic leaders and societies.”
Feingold asked Hoagland how he plans to respond to those in the
Armenian community who are upset by Ambassador John M. Evans’
premature departure. Hoagland replied that the US and Armenia have a
deep and robust relationship, stating “this relationship is based on
close ties and mutual interests on a variety of issues. We expect this
relationship to continue and deepen.”
In response to a question from Chafee on what he might say to
Armenians and Armenian-Americans on April 24, Hoagland said he will
work to draw attention to the events as the President has done. “I
will work to encourage dialogue between Armenia and Turkey on this
issue and to encourage all parties to examine the historical events of
this time with honesty and sensitivity,” he stated.
Hoagland, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently
serves as United States Ambassador to the Republic of
Tajikistan. Prior to this, he served as Director of the Office of
Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier
in his career, he served as Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy
in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs.

Azeri Defense Minister discontent with OSCE Minsk Group activity

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 16:42
Defense Minister of Azerbaijan Safar Abiyev is discontent with the
activity of the OSCE Minsk Group engaged in the resolution of the
Karabakh conflict, the statement of the Azeri MFA says, `Interfax’
reports.
“The situation in the region is very strained. The
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has not been settled yet, and the
activity of the Minsk Group is insufficient,’ Abiyev declared during
the meeting with the Commander of the National Guard of the US State
of Oklahoma Harry White.
The Minister said `Azerbaijan wants the conflict to be resolved on the
basis of the international law and in the frames of the territorial
integrity of the country and demands the Armed Forces of Armenia to
immediacy withdraw from the occupied territories.’ In his turn, Harry
White declared that `the US supported and continues to support the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.’
`The US wants the conflict to be settled in a diplomatic way and
appreciates the efforts of Azerbaijan in this direction. We are ready
to assist you on this route,’ the US General stated.

Brazil and Armenia to cooperate in the spheres of tourism, trade and economy

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 17:30
July 26 the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro received the Consul General of
Armenia Ashot Yeghiazaryan.
Issues related to the development of cooperation between Armenia and
Brazil, establishment of direct ties between the states and cities of
the two countries were touched upon during the meeting.
Ashot Yeghiazaryan conveyed the letter of the Mayor of Yerevan Yervand
Zakharyan to his Brazilian counterpart, which included an invitation
for to visit Armenia to learn about the life of our country and the
capital, to discuss questions of mutual interest and conclude an
agreement on cooperation.
The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro highly appreciated the invitation and
assured that his government will apply every effort to establish
cultural, tourist, trade and economic cooperation between the two
cities.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

From: [email protected]
Subject: Georgian authorities to allow Armenian citizens pass the border
Georgian authorities to allow Armenian citizens pass the border through
Egnet checkpoint

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 17:55
In response to the question about the situation with the Armenian
citizens gathered at the Ergnet border crossing point in Georgia,
Mr. Karapetyan stated: `We were informed tonight that the Georgian
authorities have decided as an exception to allow the citizens of
Armenia to pass the border crossing point near Egnet. We would like to
reiterate our gratitude for this step taken by a good neighbor.
During the coming hours, a string of cars accompanied by the
representatives of the Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi and the OSCE Office
in Georgia will be headed for Armenia. I take this opportunity to
once again appeal to those citizens of the Republic of Armenia who
travel from Russia to Armenia via Georgia not to take the road passing
through South Ossetia, Georgia. The South Ossetia administrative
border crossing point is not functioning. The only possible way to
reach Armenia from Russia today is by means of the Poti ` Novorossiysk
ferry.

Diaspora youth unite in Homeland
28.07.2006 14:34
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The opening ceremony of the program called `The
First Armenia Trip of the ARF Youth Unions’ will be held on July 29 at
Yerbalur. Over 150 young Armenians from 9 countries have arrived in
Armenia.
The program will last through August 5 and the youngsters will stay at
Aghavnadzor and make trips to Armenian regions. Speaking at a news
conference at the ARF Bureau headquarters, Tatul Harutiunian, the
director of the program, said the program’s goal is educational.
The motto of the program is `Armenia is my Homeland.’ He noted that
the program will further the ties between the Homeland and Diaspora.
Young people from Armenia, Javakhk and Artsakh will also participate
in the program.
Saro Ter-Petrosian, the head of the Canadian delegation, said that
when selecting the participants, they have chosen those who had never
been in Armenia before.
Harutiunian said that the number of the participants was supposed to
be bigger but many from the Middle East could not take part in it
because of the war in Lebanon.

Turkish court rejects nationalists’ compensation demand from novelist
Orhan Pamuk
AP Worldstream; Jul 28, 2006

A Turkish court on Friday dropped a lawsuit against novelist Orhan
Pamuk, rejecting a compensation demand by nationalists from the author
for claiming that Turkey had killed more than 1 million Armenians and
more than 30,000 Kurds.

Nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz and five other nationalists were
seeking 6,000 Turkish Lira (US$4,500 or A3,700) each from Pamuk
accusing him of “insulting, humiliating and making false accusations.”

Pamuk was quoted as telling a Swiss newspaper that: “Thirty-thousand
Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody
but me dares to talk about it.”

Kerincsiz had instigated an earlier high-profile court case against
Pamuk for the same comments, but those charges were dropped earlier
this year, under harsh criticism from the European Union, which Turkey
hopes to join.

Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killing in an organized genocidal campaign by Ottoman Turks, and have
pushed for recognition of the killings as genocide around the world.

Turkey vehemently denies that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman
Turks around the time of World War I was genocide. Turkey acknowledges
that large numbers of Armenians died, but says the overall figure is
inflated and that the deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkish court acquits author Perihan Magden
Guardian Unlimited; Jul 28, 2006

Turkish writer and journalist Perihan Magden has been acquitted of
charges under Article 301 of the Turkish consitution.

Istanbul’s second criminal court of first instance ruled yesterday
that an article defending the rights of a conscientious objector
amounted to “heavy criticism conveyed within the scope of freedom of
expression” and did not constitute a crime.

In her column, published in the weekly Yeni Aktuel magazine last
December, Magden defended conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan who was
sentenced to a record four-year term in a military prison for
disobedience after refusing to wear his military uniform. She argued
that Turkey needed to establish a civilian service as an alternative
to compulsory military conscription.

Conscription in Turkey is obligatory for men over 20, and the country
does not recognise the right to conscientious objection. Objectors
have also been prosecuted on charges of turning people against the
military. Magden faced up to three years in prison had she been
convicted.

Despite pressure from the EU – which Turkey hopes to join – to improve
freedoms, the Turkish government has no plans to change such laws,
saying where appropriate the charges are eventually dropped and
defendants are acquitted. EU officials argue that even if charges are
dropped, the threat of prosecution remains as a deterrent, and stress
that freedom of speech is a “key principle” in determining a state’s
eligibility to join the EU.

Magden is one of a string of writers and journalists to stand trial
for expressing opinions. Earlier this month the case against the
bestselling author Elif Shafak, charged under Article 301 for
“insulting Turkishness” in her latest novel, was reopened.

The novelist Orhan Pamuk faced similar charges for commenting on the
mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of the first world
war. The charges against Pamuk were dropped for technical reasons late
last year amid intense international pressure.