Sack Her Mayor

SACK HER MAYOR
by Paula Maud

Hume Moreland Leader (Australia)
May 24, 2006 Wednesday
HOV Edition

MAYOR Adem Atmaca is calling for a State Government MP to stand down
or lose her position as parliamentary secretary after an inflammatory
attack on Turkey last week.

Jika Jika MP Jenny Mikakos stirred up ethnic divisions within the Labor
Party and the community when she called on the Turkish Government to
acknowledge crimes against Pontic Greeks earlier last century.

Greek-background Ms Mikakos told parliament that more than 353,000
Greeks, 1.5 million Armenians and 750,000 Assyrians died when Turkish
nationalists embraced a “Turkey for the Turks” policy between 1916
and 1923.

“Unlike Germany which has taken responsibility for the Jewish
Holocaust, Turkey has never apologised to its victims,” she said.

Speaking after returning from the Anzac Day ceremony in Gallipoli, Cr
Atmaca said Ms Mikakos should be working in the interests of Victorians
and not other foreign governments. Cr Atmaca, of Turkish background,
said there was no need for hate speeches in parliament and voters in
Jika Jika should ask themselves how Ms Mikakos was serving them by
bringing this subject up.

Cr Atmaca said he would say the same regardless of what ethnic group
was being “attacked”.

“Politicians should be showing that living in harmony is in the best
interests of Victorians,” Cr Atmaca said.

Ms Mikakos did not respond to the Leader’s calls about her speech.

Kocharyan Thanks Putin For Help In Solving Plane Crash Mystery

KOCHARYAN THANKS PUTIN FOR HELP IN SOLVING PLANE CRASH MYSTERY

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 24, 2006 Wednesday 12:33 PM EST

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan telephoned President Vladimir
Putin on Wednesday to thank Russian authorities for the effective and
large-scale participation of various services and agencies in the
operation to find and lift flight data recorders from the Armenian
Airbus-320 passenger plane that crashed in the Black Sea off Sochi
at the beginning of May.

Putin expressed hope that the lifting of the “black boxes” from
the crashed plane, which had become possible due to unique work of
top-level specialists, will shed light on the causes of the accident.

Of 113 people who were abroad the plane, 51 bodies have been found.

The Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the
Black Sea as it was making a landing manoeuvre in the early hours of
May 3. The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.

Agreement On Karabakh May Be Reached – Diplomat

AGREEMENT ON KARABAKH MAY BE REACHED – DIPLOMAT
by Viktor Shulman

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 24, 2006 Wednesday

There are chances to reach agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh, according
to a statement adopted by co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group on
Wednesday.

The co-chairmen made the statement on the results of their
consultations in Baku.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said the Minsk Group
co-chairmen (Russia, France and the United States) are convinced
that the conflict “may be settled by peaceful means. Moreover, both
countries (Armenia and Azerbaijan) should prepare the public for
peace and not for war.”

The co-chairmen met Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov. “Our discussions in Baku were
constructive. Tomorrow we’ll fly to Yerevan for talks with Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan. We
hope for progress,” Karasin said.

IAC Says Operation To Lift A-320 Flight Recorders “Unprecedented”

IAC SAYS OPERATION TO LIFT A-320 FLIGHT RECORDERS “UNPRECEDENTED”
by Dmitry Nezdorovin

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 24, 2006 Wednesday

The Interstate Aviation Committee said the operation to find and lift
flight data recorders from the Armenian Airbus-320 passenger plane that
crashed into the Black Sea at the beginning of May was “unprecedented.”

“I have been working at the Interstate Aviation Committee for 20 years
and haven’t heard of any operation that ended successfully under such
harsh conditions as on the Black Sea bed,” committee head Tatyana
Anodina said on Wednesday.

In her words, about 2,000 planes of the Airbus-320 type are operating
around the world, and everybody wants to get full and objective data
about the accident as soon as possible.

According to Anodina, two black boxes from the crashed plane record
conversations in the cockpit and plane system data. “Unfortunately
the voice recorder was seriously damaged but the data recorder,
according to preliminary information, is in excellent condition.

Recordings will be analysed in Russia, using equipment from France
where the Airbus-320 airliner was designed,” she said.

With the second black box lifted from the seabed last night, the
operation to find and recover the flight data recorders was completed.

Transport Minister Igor Levitin said the operation was “unique.”

“Never before have Russian specialists lifted sunken objects from
such depths in the aggressive hydrogen sulphide environment,” he said
on Wednesday.

“The Russian equipment that was used has no analogues and therefore
work in this direction must continue,” he added.

The minister expressed condolences to the families of the plane crash
victims. “A sour feeling remains because we have not been able to
lift anything from the seabed but black boxes,” he said.

The first flight data recorder was lifted on Monday. It had taken
about 20 hours to identify and lift the flight data recorder, a
Transport Ministry official told Itar-Tass.

“The black box was found on Sunday at about 7.50 p.m. Moscow time
(1550 GMT) at a depth of 500 metres, but its version did not match
the one French specialists were looking for. It had a different size
and weight.

During the night, the images of the black box from the seabed were
transmitted to France where Airbus officials confirmed it belonged
to the crashed plane.

Specialists then started reprogramming the manipulator that was to
be used for lifting the black box. The lifting proceeded in three
stages and involved not only the robot but also a network in which
the recorder was placed.

“The black box was lifted in the net from the seabed to 17 metres
from the surface, where a diver picked it up to prevent it from being
carried away by currents,” the official said.

The black box was found in an area of three meters by five metres at
a depth of 500 metres. It lay under 50 centimeters of silt.

The first “black box” was lifted from the seabed at about 3.05 p.m.

(1105 GMT). “The flight data recorder was found under a layer of
soil. The operation to lift it began at 09:00 Moscow time and lasted
six hours. The ‘black box’ has been sent to Moscow for deciphering.

The second data recorder may be not far from the place where the
first one was found,” the operational headquarters told Itar-Tass.

Anodina, said, “The found flight data recorder is badly damaged because
of strong impact and because of lying in an aggressive environment.”

She said data from the recorder would be analysed by a standard
procedure that will involve officials from Armenia, France, and Russia.

There were three flight data recorders aboard the plane but no signals
from the third one have ever been registered, which suggests that
its radio beacon was knocked off during the crash.

The operation to lift the flight data recorders started last Tuesday
but was interrupted by a strong side wind that constantly carried
away the ship, which is operating the RT-1000 apparatus, which is
conducting the search for the flight recorders.

Silt on the seabed complicated the work, covering the video camera
and the searchlights. The team had to raise the apparatus several
times to clean them. It takes 40 minutes for the apparatus to sink
and as much to come back to the surface.

Flight data recorders used on aircraft of the Airbus-320 type withstand
the depth of up to 6,000 meters for 30 days, experts from the French
air crash investigation bureau said.

They said that flight recorders’ radio beacons keep working during
a 30-day period.

One of the flight data recorders registers flight parameters, including
the speed, height and direction of the flight and the autopilot
operation, each second. The other gadget records conversations in
the cockpit.

Each flight recorder weighs 10 kilograms, including a seven-kilogram
armoured casing for the gadget. The casing can withstand water pressure
at a depth of 6,000 meters, the temperature of 1,100 degrees Celsius,
and the compression of 2.2 tonnes.

The bureau retrieved flight recorders from the depth of over 1,000
meters in the Red Sea in January 2004, when an Egyptian plane crashed
near the Sharm-el-Sheikh resort. The rescuers were using a Scorpio
deep-water apparatus.

Of 113 people who were abroad the plane, 51 bodies have been found
so far.

The Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the
Black Sea as it was making a landing manoeuvre in the early hours of
May 3. The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.

Second Train With Russian Military Hardware En Route From GeorgiaApp

SECOND TRAIN WITH RUSSIAN MILITARY HARDWARE EN ROUTE FROM GEORGIA APPROACHING STATE BORDER

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
May 24, 2006 Wednesday 11:34 AM MSK

The second train with materiel of the 62nd Russian military base
being withdrawn from Georgia passed the Kyzyl station early on
Wednesday and is approaching the Azerbaijani- Russian border, Colonel
Vladimir Kuparadze, deputy commander of the Russian military force
in Transcaucasia, told Interfax-Military News Agency.

“The train has been moving as scheduled without any incidents, and we
believe that customs and border guard procedures on the state border
will be quick,” Kuparadze said.

“The train will bring to Russia 35 special automobiles, 36.5 tonnes
of ammunition, and other materiel of the 62nd military base stationed
in the Georgian town of Akhalkalaki,” he noted.

Kuparadze recalled that the first train with Russian materiel left
Georgia on May 15 and brought to Russia seven T-72 tanks, 12 APCs
and automobiles of the 62nd base.

“Before the end of 2006, 20 more trains with hardware, armaments and
materiel of Russian military bases, i.e. about 400 cars and flatcars,
are to leave Georgia to deliver up to 500 pieces of military hardware,”
he said.

The loading of the third train has ended in Batumi, Kuparadze went on.

“This train will bring part of special logistics support equipment and
other materiel of the 12th Russian military base in Batumi to Armenia,
where it will be added to the inventory of the 102nd military base
in Gyumri,” he noted.

The departure of the third train is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Toulouse: Manifestation De Soutien A Une Lyceenne Azerie MenaceeD’Ex

TOULOUSE: MANIFESTATION DE SOUTIEN A UNE LYCEENNE AZERIE MENACEE D’EXPULSION

Agence France Presse
24 mai 2006 mercredi 2:18 PM GMT

Plusieurs dizaines d’elèves et d’enseignants du lycee Bellevue de
Toulouse se sont rassembles devant l’etablissement mercredi a la
mi-journee en soutien a une elève azerie menacee d’expulsion avec
toute sa famille, a constate un journaliste de l’AFP.

Le rassemblement, en presence de la jeune Amina, 19 ans, elève en
deuxième annee de BEP vente au lycee professionnel, s’est deroule
a l’issue d’une audience du tribunal administratif qui a rejete le
recours en annulation de la famille contre un arrete prefectoral de
reconduite a la frontière.

“La famille d’Amina, poussee a fuir l’Azerbaïdjan en raison de ses
origines armeniennes, est en France depuis trois ans, après avoir passe
huit ans en Allemagne. Cette jeune fille a un vrai projet professionnel
et de vie en France, alors qu’elle et sa famille seraient menacees
en Azerbaïdjan”, a declare une responsable du comite de soutien,
Myriam Martin, enseignante et deleguee CGT du lycee professionnel.

“Je suis surprise. Nous avions le droit de notre côte mais aussi
l’humanite, nous allons faire appel, ce n’est pas possible d’emigrer
encore”, a declare la jeune fille en pleurs.

Le père et la mère d’Amina, son frère aîne et son epouse ainsi que
leurs deux enfants en bas âge sont vises par l’arrete prefectoral,
mais Amina peut en principe achever son annee scolaire en France.

“Nous allons continuer de faire signer des petitions et poursuivre
la mobilisation traditionnelle, mais a un moment donne la question
de cacher ceux qui sont menaces pourrait se poser, meme si ce n’est
pas legal. Il y a actuellement une nuance enorme entre la loi et la
justice”, a declare Mme Martin.

–Boundary_(ID_O/P010otkNKOUgVs3wFhWw)–

Ruben Kochar’s “Arahet” Most Expensive Film In Hayfilm’s History

RUBEN KOCHAR’S “ARAHET” MOST EXPENSIVE FILM IN HAYFILM’S HISTORY

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 24 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Ruben Kochar’s feature
film entitled “Arahet” (“Path”), the most expensive film in the history
of Hayfilm shot with Armenian-American joint production will be shown
on May 25, 26 and 27 at “Moscow” cinema of Yerevan. Film producer
Arpi Hakobian informed about it at the May 23 press conference. The
film was first shown in the U.S. On February 17 2006 the International
Film Festival of San Francisco opened with the film “Arahet.”

According to Ruben Kochar, the film is the story of life of an Armenian
young man who emigrated to the U.S., it presents his feelings in
a foreign country. The film delicately prompts the spectator about
all sufferings and problems that emerge in emigration. According to
the film director, the problem touched upon at the film is common
to all mankind as today almost all nations and peoples of the world
emigrate. “From this point of view the film was very warmly met by
the American film spectator as this problem is everywhere,” R.Kochar
emphasized. And he left the answer to the question about the film’s
being a success to the spectator.

The leading part of the film is played by Haroutiun Movsisian,
other well-known art figures, Ashot Adamian, Vladimir Abajian, Karen
Janibekian and others also play in the film.

According to Arpi Hakobian, the film was financed by the Blue Line
American organization. Blue Line had also financed the film director’s
previous film, “Herostratus,” and will finance the new film to be
shot in the future.

Implementation Of State Program On Resettlement Of Meskhetian Turks

IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE PROGRAM ON RESETTLEMENT OF MESKHETIAN TURKS IN GEORGIA TO START SOON

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 24 2006

AKHALKALAK, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. In late May, 6
Meskhetian families will be resettled from Azerbaijan in the region
of Gori within the framework of the state program on resettlement of
Meskhetian Turks in Georgia.

According to Georgi Khaindrava, Georgian State Minister on Issues of
Conflicts Settlement, the parliament will soon adopt the respective law
on resettlement of Meskhetian Turks in Georgia. After the adoption
of the law the government will work out the respective actions
plan. Khaindrava hopes that in the respect of program’s financing
the Council of Europe and the international community will render the
respective assistance as the Georgian government cannot allocate the
respective resources.

It is not concretely calculated today how many Meskhetian Turks will
want to return to Georgia but their number can reach 500 thousand.

The A-Info agency also mentions that the government is going to
resettle the Meskhetians mainly in Samtskhe-Javakhk populated with
Armenians.

Armenia Anxious About Situation In Javakhk

ARMENIA ANXIOUS ABOUT SITUATION IN JAVAKHK

Noyan Tapan
May 24 2006

YEREVAN, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. The Republic of Armenia is anxious
about the situation in Javakhk. RA Prime Minister Andranik Margarian
declared this at the Internet conference of the Azg newspaper.

Karapet Aristakesian, a resident of the French city of Marseilles,
expressed anxiety in connection with the fact that “before our eyes the
nationalistic authorities of Georgia broke Javakhk’s back and now it
is suffering from mortal blows. How long we will limit ourselves only
to solution of socio-economic problems? Will our generation, that has
liberated Kelbajar, inherit Javakhk in the form of Nor Nakhichevan?”

In response, RA Prime Minister advised before making such sharp
observations on such a delicate issue to weigh everything and to
take into consideration the fact that we speak about our neighboring
state and our compatriots living there and each non-careful statement
or action can do harm the interstate relations and put Armenians of
Javakhk in a more difficult position.

“We discuss with the Georgian authorities not only issues of
improvement of the socio-economic situation in Javakhk and possible
assistance by Armenia, but also those relating to preservation
of educational, spiritual-cultural and national values of our
compatriots. Within the framework of our budget we render some
assistance in providing Javakhk schools with textbooks, in repairs
of cultural centers and schools,” A.Margarian emphasized. According
to him, the Armenian government always involves the Javakhk youth in
All Armenian youth programs, implements various programs in different
spheres at the level of NGOs.

A.Margarian expressed stisfaction in connection with the fact that
considerable resources are also envisaged within the framework of the
Millennium Challenge program for reconstruction of infrastructures
in Javakhk.

Conference On History Issues Held In Yeghegnadzor

CONFERENCE ON HISTORY ISSUES HELD IN YEGHEGNADZOR

Noyan Tapan
May 24 2006

YEGHEGNADZOR, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A conference was held in
Yeghegnadzor on May 19-21 in which scientific workers of the
History Institute of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
participated. “When everything is centralized in Yerevan, it is
pleasant that the science is moved to marzes,” Professor Ashot
Melkonian, the NAS History Institute Director mentioned in the opening
speech of the conference being held at the “Gitelik” University.

He expressed gratitude to Bishop Abraham Mkrtchian, the Syunik Diocese
Primate for by the assistance the latter, as a member of the “Gitelik”
University Board of Trustees, a tradition of holding the conference
in Vayots Dzor is already being formed: a similar conference was for
the first time held here in 2005.

A meeting among scientific workers and “Gitelik” University students
was also organized within the framework of the conference, during what
the issue of Armenians’ identity was touched upon. Students addressed
numerous questions to the History Institute Director, starting from
the Armenian Genocide problems to acception of national ideology of
our-days political figures. Deputy Regional Governor of Vayots Dzor
Samvel Tarverdian was also present at the conference.