VARDAN OSKANYAN: NO ALTERNATIVE TO DIALOGUE IN THE SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 14:58
During the meeting in Bucharest Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan did not manage to agree on questions not agreed upon in
Ramboulliet. The parties, however, decided to continue the talks.
“There is no alternative to dialogue in the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict. The parties agreed that the Foreign Ministers will hold
another meeting in case the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs consider it
is necessary,” Vardan Oskanyan said.
Mr. Oskanyan did not rule out the possibility of the meeting on the
level of Foreign Ministers and expressed the hope that it will be
possible to agree upon at least some document of principle in 2006.
“In Bucharest and Ramboulliet the Presidents did not manage to come
to an agreement on a very complex issue,” Vardan Oskanyan noted.
In response to the question what the hopes for positive resolution are
based on, the Foreign Minister said, “Every time when new formulations
or approaches on questions of principle are suggested, each of the
sides hopes it will manage to persuade the other party during the
meeting. This failed in Bucharest, we need to try again.”
RA Foreign Minister underlined that the position of the Armenian side
has not changed. Yerevan is ready to discuss issues of eliminating
the results of the conflict only in case Azerbaijan recognizes the
right for self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Vardan Oskanyan declared that Armenian does not feel pressure on the
part of the mediators and does not consider that the parties will
face such pressure in the future.

VARDAN OSKANYAN: DELAY OF EU-ARMENIA TALKS ASSOCIATED WITH PROBLEMS OUR NEIGHBORS ARE FACING
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 15:13
RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan declared today in Yerevan that
the delay of EU-Armenia talks on the Actions Plan in the framework
of the European Neighborhood Policy is associated with “some problems
our neighbors are facing.”
“All questions were agreed upon during the second round of EU-Armenia
talks early in May, and we see no necessity of another round of
negotiations,” the Foreign Minister noted.
Vardan Oskanyan mentioned that the reason of the current situation
is that the European Union has not taken the decision to establish
individualized relations with South Caucasian countries and aspires
to adopt the Actions Plans with Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan
simultaneously.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SENATORS KERRY AND KENNEDY DEMAND ANSWERS ABOUT EVANS FIRING
ArmRadio.am
08.06.2006 11:17
Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy joined the growing list of
legislators demanding answers from the Administration regarding the
recall of US Ambassador to Armenian John Evans over his honest and
accurate public statements about the Armenian Genocide, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
In a June 5th letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the two
Massachusetts Senators conveyed their concerns regarding reports that
the Ambassador was dismissed “due to the use of the word ‘genocide’
when describing the atrocities that were committed against the Armenian
people in 1915.” They added that, “Reports from diplomats at the time
make clear that genocide accurately described these events. Henry
Morgenthau, then our Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, described
these actions as a campaign of racial extermination.” They closed
their letter by noting that, “Allegedly the Government of Turkey
was dismayed by Amb. Evans’ remarks and expressed this to the US
Government. We would like clarification as soon as possible about
Amb. Evans’ premature dismissal after 35 years of exemplary service
to the United States Government.”
The letter was sent in the wake of the May 23rd White House
announcement nominating Richard Hoagland to serve as the new Ambassador
to Armenia.
Ambassador Evans will be replaced in Yerevan after Hoagland’s Senate
confirmation process is completed.
“We join with Armenians throughout Massachusetts and around the nation
in thanking Senators Kennedy and Kerry for demanding an explanation of
the circumstances of Ambassador Evans’ firing – particularly as they
relate to the role of the Turkish government,” said ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian.
“Despite repeated Congressional inquiries dating back more than three
months, the Administration has yet to respond to a single question,
to provide any meaningful explanation of its actions, or to release
even one of the diplomatic cables from the Turkish government on
this matter.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN CHURCH SETS YOUTH DAY
Press-Enterprise (subscription), CA
June 8 2006
The Armenian Apostolic Church of Riverside is set to hold Youth
Appreciation Day from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Castle Park in
Riverside.
Admission is free to youth who regularly attend services at the church,
which serves Armenians in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The cost for parents and other students is $13.95, which includes
admission, lunch and rides. The monthly service of Holy Badarak,
Divine Liturgy is set for 3 p.m. June 18 at All Saints Episcopal
Church, 3847 Terracina Drive, Riverside.
The service will include a blessing of the youth. Graduating students
will be recognized after the service.
For information about Youth Appreciation Day, call 951-274-
0616. For information about the Sunday service, call 909-883- 1066
or 951-684-1722.

HUMANITARIAN FACTOR ESSENTIAL IN ISSUE ON MISSING PEOPLE IN S CAUCASUS- PACE CO-RAPPORTEUR
Author: R.Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
The humanitarian, but not the political factor, dominates in the
issue concerning the missing people in the South Caucasus countries,
Leo Platvoed, the Dutch MP, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) co-rapporteur on the missing people in South Caucasus
countries, stated in Baku on Tuesday evening, Trend reports.
According to Platvoed, the key objective of the visit is to design
an overhaul document reflecting the true situation both in Armenia
and Azerbaijan. The details of the forthcoming report will be
discussed with Azerbaijani officials, relatives of the missing people,
representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross, different
state bodies and Azerbaijani parliamentary representatives to the PACE.
At the same time he refuted the Armenian media reports on the statement
as though made in Yerevan on the necessity of cooperation between
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh on the issue of missing
people. “My ideas were interrupted in the wrong way. I actually meant
to avoid the political aspect of the question and unify the efforts
for rapid resolution of the problem with the missing people,” he said.
Platvoed noted that he was unaware with the intention of the PACE
co-rapporteurs Andreas Gross and Andreas Herkel in include in
their report the result of the re-run parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan. “Nevertheless, I am glad that the co-rapporteurs took
into consideration my recommendations,” he underscored.

RUSSIA’S VIMPELCOM AND SISTEMA BID FOR OTE’S 90 PCT STAKE IN ARMENTEL REPORT
AFX Europe (Focus)
Jun 08, 2006
ATHENS (AFX) – Russia’s VimpelCom and AFK Sistema are bidding for
Hellenic Telecom’s (OTE) 90 pct stake in ArmenTel, according to
Russian news agency Novosti.
It said VimpelCom will take part in the first stage of the tender,
but will not reveal any details until the tender results are announced.
OTE said in April it wanted to sell its stake in Armenia’s leading
mobile operator. The Armenian government holds 10 pct in ArmenTel,
which has about 330,000 customers.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKISH AUTHOR STANDS TRIAL ON CHARGES OF TURNING TURKS AGAINST MILITARY SERVICE
Suzan Fraser
AP Worldstream
Jun 07, 2006
Turkish author and journalist Perihan Magden went on trial Wednesday,
charged with turning people against military service after she defended
the rights of a conscientious objector in a weekly magazine column.
Magden is the latest in a string of writers and journalists to stand
trial for expressing their opinions despite heavy pressure from
the EU _ which Turkey hopes to join _ to scrap repressive laws and
improve freedoms.
In her column published in weekly Yeni Aktuel magazine in 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. Turkey, she wrote, needed to
establish a civilian service as an alternative to compulsory military
conscription.
At an Istanbul court on Wednesday, Magden denied that she was trying
to turn people against military service.
“I only argued that conscientious objection is a human right. It is my
right and duty to defend conscientious objection,” she said, according
to CNN-Turk television. The trial was adjourned until July 27.
Conscription in Turkey is obligatory for men over 20, and the country
does not recognize the right to conscientious objection. Objectors
have been prosecuted on charges of turning people against the military.
Magden could face up to three years in prison if convicted of the
charge of “alienating the people against military service.”
Conscientious objections find few supporters in Turkey where the
military is revered, conscription has widespread support and young
men are sent off to do their military service amid celebrations.
Magden, the author of “Two Girls,” and “The Messenger Boy Murders”
faced a group of nationalists who jeered her as she entered the
courthouse Wednesday, the Anatolia news agency reported. Security
forces moved the group _ made up of mostly of veterans and families
of soldiers killed in fighting against Kurdish rebels _ away from
Magden and her supporters.
In the most high-profile case, novelist Orhan Pamuk stood trial earlier
this year on charges of insulting “Turkishness” for commenting on the
mass killings of Armenians by Turks around the time of World War I,
which a number of governments and scholars have said were the first
genocide of the 20th century.
The charges were dropped amid intense international pressure.
Turkey vehemently denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has made clear
it has no plans to change laws used to prosecute Pamuk and others,
saying the charges are eventually dropped and defendants are acquitted.
EU officials argue, however, that even if the charges are dropped the
threat of prosecution remains as a deterrent against people wishing
to express opinions.
In an interview with Milliyet newspaper published Wednesday, Hansjoerg
Kretschmer, the EU’s representative in Turkey, criticized Magden’s
trial and similar trials.
“If you think that the right for conscientious objection should exist,
why shouldn’t you be able to say so?” the paper quoted Kretschmer as
saying. “These are things that are unacceptable in Europe.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ANOTHER BATCH OF RF MIL HARDWARE REACHES GEORGIA-ARMENIA BORDER
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 8 2006
TBILISI, June 8 (Itar-Tass) — A convoy of 15 wheeled military vehicles
and six guns withdrawn from the Russian military base in Georgia’
s Akhalkalaki reached the Georgian-Armenian border on Thursday. The
convoy will keep on its way to the Russian military base in Gyumri
after passing the corresponding border and customs procedures,
a source in the headquarters of the Akhalkalaki base told Itar-Tass.
A train that is carrying 40 vehicles and some property from the Russian
military base in Batumi, western Georgia, left the city, a source in
the headquarters of the Russian Troops in the Transcaucasia said. The
train will pass 470 kilometers in Georgia and is expected to cross
the Georgian-Armenian border on Thursday afternoon.
Under the Georgian-Russian agreements the withdrawal of the Russian
military base from Batumi should be completed by the end of 2008. The
Russian base in Akhalkalaki should be closed by the end of 2007. Most
military hardware and weapons will be supplied to Russia, the remaining
part will be transferred to the Russian base in Armenia.

TEHRAN USES KARABAKH ISSUE AS “TRAMP CARD” AFTER UNREST – AZERI ACTIVIST
Yeni Musavat, Baku
7 Jun 06
The press secretary of the World Azerbaijani Congress, Ali Nicat,
has said that Tehran is trying to exert pressure on Azerbaijan, by
using Karabakh as its “tramp card”, the Baku-based opposition paper
Yeni Musavat has reported.
In an interview with the paper on 7 June, Nicat said that “the Persian
regime started to doubt Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity after the
developments in southern Azerbaijan”.
Quoting sources in northwestern Iran, Nicat said that “Iranian state
TV channel Iran TV-1 insulted the dignity of Azerbaijanis in its
newscast in the afternoon of 5 June. The TV channel carried a report
on the Bucharest meeting between [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev
and [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan and later dwelled on the
Karabakh problem. It said that ‘the independent Nagornyy Karabakh
republic announced its independence 15 years ago. However, Azerbaijan
has territorial claims to the independent Nagornyy Karabakh republic.”
In reaction to the issue in question, a spokesman for the Iranian
embassy in Baku told Yeni Musavat: “The official position of our state
on this issue is known. I do not think that anything like this will
happen. We cannot comment on the remarks by every passer-by. If you
have facts, we will be happy to discuss them.”
Yeni Musavat said that the Southern Azerbaijan information centre had
been set up in Baku on 6 June to keep the public properly informed
about the developments in northwestern Iran.

PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN: WE HAVE NO COOPERATION RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA FOR ITS AGGRESSION AGAINST AZERBAIJAN
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
The objective of my visit to the villages of Tovuz region on border
with Armenia is to familiarize with the living conditions of people
here,” APA’s western bureau reports quoting Pakistan’s extraordinary
and plenipotentiary ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohammad Hafiz as saying.
The ambassador said the population living near the border demonstrate
great courage.
“They are standing bravely and courageously face to face with Armenians
in a very difficult situation and have not betrayed their motherland,”
Mr.Hafiz said.
The Pakistani ambassador said Tovuz is not situated on the conflict
zone but on border with Armenia. Adding that the cease-fire is often
violated here even in peaceful period, the ambassador called this
situation horrible.
“This is terrible situation, the international community should
influence on the opposite side to guarantee freedom and quiet living of
these people. The government of Pakistan supports the rightful position
of Azerbaijan both individually and in the frames of international
organizations. Pakistan will continue to support Azerbaijan until
peace is established in the region. As a representative of Pakistan,
I will try to visit other regions on border as much as possible. It is
very important for me to get to know the situations in the regions,”
he said.
Mr. Hafiz also said Pakistan has no cooperation relations with Armenia,
“We are not cooperating with Armenia. We have not established any
economical, political and diplomatic relations with Armenia for its
having occupied Azerbaijan’s territories. Pakistan has not established
its embassy in Armenia as we back Azerbaijan in this matter. Pakistan
has always been together with Azerbaijan and will further be,” the
ambassador underlined.