VICTOR DALLAKYAN’S RUSE FAILED
Lragir.am
12 June 06
The meeting of the parliament kicked off June 12 lasted shorter than
the adjournments the parliamentary factions took before the voting.
The cause was Victor Dallakyan, the secretary of the Ardarutiun
Alliance, who had proposed setting up ad-hoc committees to study the
fraud reported during the elections in 2003 and the referendum in
2005. Dallakyan explains this by the necessity to punish falsifiers
to go on to conduct a fair election. The secretary of the alliance
suggests putting the issue to vote to include it in the agenda of
the four-day meeting.
The parliamentary majority naturally disagreed with Victor Dallakyan’s
initiative. Speaker Tigran Torosyan said it is impossible to
discuss the questions in the spring session because it ends on June
14. Besides, the speaker of the National Assembly thinks the ad-hoc
committee of the proposal will not have time to work.
“Yes, we must conduct the parliamentary election in 2007 and all the
future elections in compliance with the international standards,
first of all, for the sake of our country, second, to fulfill
the obligations taken up before the international organizations,”
announce Speaker Torosyan, confessing that the elections in 2003 and
the referendum in 2005 were marred by irregularities and fraud.
Tigran Torosyan proposed to make joint efforts to improve the Electoral
Code to reach fair and free elections instead of politicizing the
question of the ad-hoc committee.
In reply Victor reminded that it is three years since the opposition
proposed studying the question of fraud, and this proposal regularly
crashes into the wall of the majority. Victor Dallakyan naturally
insisted that the issue be included in the agenda. However,
realizing that his initiative will be rejected, Victor Dallakyan
resorted to a ruse immediately before the voting. First he asked for
a 20-minute adjournment, provided for by the bylaws, afterwards he
proposed postponing the voting for 30 days. For a moment the “callow”
parliamentary majority could not realize what happened, and rejected
Victor Dallakyan’s proposal by voting. Afterwards the member of
parliament announced that if the majority rejected his proposal to
set up an ad-hoc committee, the initiative is automatically included
in the agenda. Victor Dallakyan says he proceeds from the bylaws
and a precedent reported during the work of the parliament. Deputy
Speaker Vahan Hovanisyan and Speaker Tigran Torosyan said there is
not such a point in the bylaws and such a precedent, which was to
be refused, of course. Dallakyan announced that it is already on the
agenda because the proposal to postpone was rejected. At that moment
Gurgen Arsenyan interfered, saying that the problem was disputable
and it is necessary to adjourn the session before the voting and
discuss the situation to avoid trouble.
During this adjournment all the leaders of the parliamentary factions
except Artashes Geghamyan discussed the question and decided that
it was a misunderstanding. Vahan Hovanisyan misunderstood Victor
Dallakyan. Hovanisyan announced that he thought Dallakyan proposed
postponing the voting to the bill and set forward this proposal,
which was rejected. Hovanisyan apologized, saying that he was guided by
logic, whereas the bylaws are not always logical. After reporting this
break-up of the bylaws of the parliament and logic Victor Dallakyan’s
rejected Victor Dallakyan’s initiative and went on to discuss the
agenda, when only an hour remained before the end of the working day.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TODAY AGENDA OF ARMENIA-CE RELATIONS INCLUDES FIRST OF ALL ISSUES OF REFORMING OF LEGISLATION, VARTAN OSKANIAN SAYS
Noyan Tapan
Jun 09 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. “At the meetings with the Armenian
leadership we came to the conclusion about the necessity to prepare a
text of amendments to the current Electoral Code, ” Ambassador Roland
Wegener, Head of the Ago Group of the Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers, declared on June 10 at the joint press conference with RA
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. He mentioned that the Council of
Europe is ready to assist Armenia in this issue.
According to the Ambassador, the amendments to the Electoral Code will
become a basis for holding free and fair elections. At the same time,
as R.Wegener estimated, providing pluralism in the country and first of
all in mass media, active participation of different parties, including
opposition ones, in the issue of the forthcoming legislative amendments
play a considerable role in holding democratic elections. “Holding
of free and fair elections supposes not only the responsibility of
the authorities, but also the responsibility of the National Assembly
and the political parties,” Roland Wegener declared. The Head of the
Ago Group emphasized that after the adoption of the amendments to the
Armenian Constitution it is necessary that the Armenian legislation
be brought in correspondence with the amendments. In this issue
Armenia has assumed a commitment towards CE to adopt a number of
new laws during the coming two years and to make amendments to such
laws as the law “On Alternative Service,” “On Radio and Television,”
“Civil Code,” preparation of bills “On Yerevan,” “On RA Ombudsperson,”
etc. Preparation for the forthcoming parliamentary elections to be held
in 2007 is also included in this process. Vartan Oskanian emphasized
that the agenda of relations between Armenia and the Council of
Europe is very large and includes first of all issues of reforming
the legislation. According to him, Armenia has already fulfilled the
most part of its commitments assumed towards CE, but there is still
much to do.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROLAND WEGENER ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO NOTIFICATION OF PUBLIC ABOUT REFORMED LAWS AND TO THEIR USE IN PRACTICE
Noyan Tapan
Jun 12 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The Constitutional reforms had
a positive impact in the issue of fulfilment of all Armenia’s
commitments towards the Council of Europe. This was mentioned
at the June 10 meeting of RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
with Ago Group on Monitoring of Council of Europe Committee of
Ministers. They exchanged thoughts over issues of strengthening of
democratic institutions and full freedom of press. Ambassador Roland
Wegener, head of the delegation, Resident Representative of Germany
to CE, attached importance to bringing the Electoral Code and the
legislative field in correspondence with the amended Constitution. In
this respect he attached importance to providing public’s awareness
about the reformed laws and to their use in practice. Minister Oskanian
in general outline presented the ambassadors the current process of
Nagorno Karabakh settlement, its developments and prospects. As Noyan
Tapan was informed from RA Foreign Ministry Press and Information
Department, Ambassadors of France, Switzerland, Sweden and Romania
to CE were also included in the delegation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ALL PRECONDITIONS FOR ARMENIA-SWITZERLAND ECONOMIC COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT AVAILABLE
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2006 14:18 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian-Swiss relations are developing
dynamically in all directions, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian stated at a joint press conference with Head of the Swiss
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Micheline Calmy-Rey. In his
words, presently steps for the settlement of some issues in the
economic sector are being taken.
“At the moment a business forum with the participation of the Armenian
delegation led by the Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen
Chshmarityan is being held in Zurich. I am hopeful that Switzerland’s
engagement in the Armenian economic life will deepen,” the RA FM
remarked.
For her part, Micheline Calmy-Rey underscored that all the
preconditions for the development of bilateral economic cooperation
are available. “The legislative field is being reformed, bilateral
agreements are concluded. All this is called to encourage the dynamic
development of relations between the two states,” she said.

EX DEPUTY MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY THINKS A-320 CRASH HAD FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS
Yerevan, June 10. ArmInfo. One should look for the reason of the
crash of A-320 airbus flying from Yerevan to Sochi on May 3 night
in the economic and financial plane, Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, ex deputy
minister of national security of Armenia, said at the Discussion club
“Azdak,” Saturday.
He said the prices of air tickets in Armenia are as high as nowhere
else, but the safety of flights, passenger and technical service do not
meet these prices at all. In addition, it is not a secret that “some
smart people” have managed to use the situation in their favor “playing
on such things as expensive kerosene in Yerevan – cheap kerosene in
Sochi” etc.. The reasons of the crash must be searched just here, and
not in weather, human factor, mistakes of land officers, and others,
Yeghiazaryan said. Asked to name these “smart people,” Yeghiazaryan
hesitated for a moment and than named President Robert Kocharyan,
Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan and the owner of Armavia company
Mikhail Baghdasarov, “which is the same, in principle,” he said.

YEREVAN AND GENEVA SIGNED CONVENTION FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
12.06.2006 13:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia and Switzerland signed the Convention
for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Property. The
document was signed by Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and
Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Micheline
Calmy-Rey. At a joint press conference the FMs of the two states
stressed the importance of the document for the development of the
economic ties between Armenia and Switzerland. According to Ms.
Calmy-Rey the Convention will convey a new impulse to the relationships
between the two states. As for the relations with the European Union,
the Swiss Foreign Minister reminded that Switzerland lie Armenia
is not a member of the organization. “Alike our country Armenia
participates in the European Neighborhood Policy program. Nevertheless
we successfully cooperate in the fields presenting mutual interest. I
should underscore that Armenia and Switzerland enjoy good political
relations,” she said.

OUTRAGE AS KARUA, ALI REASSURE ON ARMENIANS
By Maxwell Masava
Kenya Times, Kenya
June 11 2006
POLICE Commissioner Maj-Gen Hussein Ali yesterday spoke on the
controversial deportation of Armenian brothers and reassured Kenyans
that the fate of the duo was sealed.
He said a report into their stay and activities in the country will
be made public once investigations are complete but explained that
they would never be allowed back into the country either on transit
or as destination.
And Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua asked
Kenyans to remain calm as the government investigate the activities
of the Armenians.
Ali’s remarks, two days after the deportation of the Artur’s alongside
their five accomplices came as leaders and several organizations,
including Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) the Anglican Church
of Kenya (ACK) and the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa
(AIPCA) continued to express outrage over the hurried expulsion and
demanded an explanation from government.
The police boss denied reports that the two brothers, Artur Sargasyan
and Artur Margaryan, had been temporarily expelled alongside five of
their accomplices to cover-up investigations into their activities
in the country.
And speaking in Nakuru, Karua said no stone would be left unturned
in establishing the true motives of the Armenians. And in another
development, a manager at one of the night spots where the Artur’s
loved hanging out denied reports that they had gone without paying
their bills at the club. The manager at Smokeys Restaurant within
Parklands, further refuted claims that a city businessman who was
also an agent of the brothers, Raju Sanghani, had stepped in to settle
the bills before the two and their accomplices were deported.
But speaking for the first time since the deportation of the Armenians,
Maj-Gen Ali said investigations on where they got everything they had,
including luxurious cars, assortment of firearm, military and police
uniforms and police identification cards, would be made public.
His remarks came as an assistant minister for Immigration and
Registration of Persons, Annania Mwaboza instructed the Kenya
Ports Authority management and the police to verify the contents
of a container belonging to the two brothers and currently said to
detained at a Mombasa port.
Although Mwaboza directed that the container passes through security
inspection procedures, an anonymous source at KPA inspection unit
denied yesterday that they were holding any container belonging to
the Armenian brothers. Mwaboza said passports and other permits found
in Artur’s possession were issued wrongly and said any information on
the two brothers ought to be published to dispel further speculations.
SUPKEM and Anglican church demanded a government statement over
the hurried deportation as AIPCA Archbishop Samson Gaitho said the
deportation revealed clearly that there was a cartel in government
playing underhand deals at the expense of the nation’s security.
A statement issued by the SUPKEM chairman, Professor Abdulghafur
El-Busaidy said the drama at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport
where the two brothers threatened to shoot Customs officials was of
serious magnitude than terrorism fears implanted into the minds of
Kenyan population.
Head of the Anglican church in the country, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi
said the security of the country must not be taken for granted and
called on the government to explain the security lapse at JKIA.
Speaking in Nakuru at the ACK Cathedral Parish of Good Shepherd,
Nzimbi said the government must always remain accountable to its people
and added that relevant ministries should respond to questions being
asked by Kenyans.
Mwaboza and Information assistant minister Koigi Wamwere expressed
dismay that the two had been deported without facing criminal
charges. They insisted that the two were not above the law.
Two Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) legislators urged President Mwai
Kibaki to sack ministers and top government officers implicated in
the Armenian saga to redeem the country’s image.
Kisumu Rural MP, Prof Anyang Nyongo and his Rangwe counterpart Philip
OKundi said the saga surrounding the Artur brothers has not only dented
the country’s image internationally but has exposed it to terrorism.
Muhoroni MP Ayiecho Olweny charged that the Artur’s were brought
into the country in order to eliminate perceived enemies of the
government. Without specifying who brought the two brothers, Olweny
claimed they were brought in to target Langata MP Raila Odinga and
other critics of the government from within.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL INFORMS PACE RAPPORTEUR ON POWs, HOSTAGES AND MISSING PEOPLE
AzerTag, Azerbaijan
June 11 2006
Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov met with
visiting delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe led by rapporteur of the organization’s Committee for Migration,
Refugees and Population for the South Caucasus Leo Platvoet.
He thanked Mr. Platvoet, as head of pre-election mission of the
PACE ad hoc Committee, for his unbiased approach to the re-run of
the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, as well as, for positive
appraisal of democratic reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan under
the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and the country’s honoring
of obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, that was
given by COE Secretary General Tarry Davis during his meeting with
high-ranking Azerbaijani officials in Strasbourg.
The Prosecutor General described Mr. Platvoet’s mission as very
delicate question recalling that the Armenian policy of occupation
and genocide against Azerbaijan lasted over 200 years and continues
today with 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories under occupation,
that over a million of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding regions are refugees and internally displaced, and that
the conflict cannot be resolved peacefully because of the Armenian
leadership’s destructive stance. In this context, according to him,
the issue of POWs, hostages and missing citizens still remains topical.
Zakir Garalov informed the visitors that the State Commission on
POWs, Hostages and Missing Persons, registered 4604 citizens of
Azerbaijan as missing, and that investigation formed three year ago
has questioned 1061 POWs and hostages, and fully proved the fact
that during occupation of the town of Khojaly, as well as Mesheli
and Garadgly villages, hundreds of people were brutally killed, taken
hostage and subjected to terrifying tortures. “Everyone proved guilty
of these crimes will appear in our country’s courts, and, if needed,
relating materials will be submitted to the international courts”
he said.
The Prosecutor General noted that not a single prisoner of war is now
in Azerbaijan, and that the country is open for any international
monitoring. “Should Armenian side has some facts, our republic is
ready conduct an appropriate investigation,” he said. He pointed out
the necessity for the Council of Europe Mission to investigate facts
in the uncontrolled territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and suggested the
visitors to meet with family members of the Azerbaijani citizens,
who were subjected to torture in Armenian captivity, and were missing
for their report to be more detailed and objective.
Leo Platvoet expressed satisfaction with the meeting noting that not
a single document on Armenian citizens held captive or hostage in
Azerbaijan was presented to him, as the head of the Mission, during
their stay in Armenia. He added that information provided by Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan Zakir Garalov and the questions raised by him
will be taken into account in his mission’s future activities.

WEST SHOW OF IRAN ISSUES POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED: ARMENIAN DAILY
Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran
June 11 2006
The West has always shown the domestic affairs of Iran in line with
its political goals, Armenian daily `Alik’ wrote on Sunday.
Alik editor-in-chief Dernik Malekian Mehr made the remark while
pointing to a news by Western media claiming that religious minorities
in Iran are obliged to carry a badge on their dresses to be distinct
from Muslims.
In line with the West’s anti-Iran propaganda, the Western media publish
news on alleged violation of human rights in Iran every year, he said,
adding this time they have focused on violation of rights of religious
minorities in Iran.
He said minor social and economic problems of religious minorities
in Iran have reduced during the past 27 years after the victory of
the Islamic Revolution.
He added religious minorities were exposed to no pressure in Iran.
The editor-in-chief further stated if religious minorities faced
problems in Iran, they would raise them through their representatives
at Majlis (Parliament) and the MPs did their utmost to settle the
problems.
He added the West has always launched such propaganda against Iran
over the past 27 years but to no avail.
Today, the communities of religious minorities in Iran face no
problem with respect to interaction with the government, he said,
adding there is no room for the West to distort realities in Iran.
Religious minorities, like every Iranian individual, can rought up
their political, social and economic problems with their deputies at
Majlis, he added.
Malekian Mehsr said the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
has always tried to settle problems of religious minorities.
There are, however, problems in Iran which are not limited to just
religious minorities rather all Iranians are faced with them, he
said, adding these problems caused no displeasure between religious
minorities and the Iranian government.

ETHNIC ARMENIAN SHOT DEAD IN MOSCOW, ANOTHER WOUNDED
MOSNEWS, Russia
June 11 2006
Two ethnic Armenians have been shot in Moscow on Saturday night,
Interfax reported.
One of the men died, the other received injuries.
In late April, a young Amernian-born man was killed by a group of
youngsters in a fight at Moscow’s central Pushkinskaya metro station.
17-year-old Vagan Abramyants, a student of a Moscow university,
was standing on the platform with several friends, when a group of
shaved young men dressed in black attacked them, NTV channel said. The
attackers looked like skinheads, members of radical nationalistic
movement.
The nation’s leading pollster, Yuri Levada, said hate crimes were an
outgrowth of deep resentment over migrants and other foreigners who
come to Russia for work or to study – some illegally and many from
Central Asia, the Caucasus, and other parts of the former Soviet Union.