WEST INTERESTED IN AZERBAIJANI OIL BUT NOT ITS TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.09.2006 14:37 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia will not make any changes in its stand on
the Karabakh issue, Russian political scientist Grigory Trofimchuk
said. According to him, if the NKR authorities decide to hold a
referendum on independence, this will be a decision beyond the sphere
of Russia’s influence. “No one will ask Russia whether to hold the
referendum or not. If determined, it will be conducted on the fixed
date and Russia will support it. Unlike the Transnistrian or Abkhazian
issues, Russia will not engage into a political confrontation and
its line on Karabakh has undergone no changes,” the Russian political
scientist said.
Trofimchuk considers that the situation with Nagorno Karabakh differs
from the situation in Transnistria and South Ossetia. “In case with
Karabakh Russia will support the position of the EU and U.S. Azerbaijan
will anyway come off the loser, since the West is interested in its
oil but not its territorial integrity,” he said, reported Day.az.

EXPLOSION IN “NAIRIT”
A1+
[12:48 pm] 25 September, 2006
An explosion took place in the sewerage system of chemical plants
“Nairit-1” and “Nairit-2” on Saturday.
The explosion was so powerful that the hatches were moved.
As the Emergency Administration informs, the explosion took place
in the sewerage system of Noragavit community and village Ayntap. A
criminal case has been initiated in connection with the incident. A
special committee has been created in order to find out the reasons
of the explosion. Samples have been taken from the soil, water and
air at the site.
The water supply system of Shengavit community has been damaged
because of the explosion.

MORE PREMATURE BABIES ARE BORN
Armenuhi Minasyan
A1+
[12:09 pm] 25 September, 2006
For the last few years the number of premature children born in Shirak
region has increased. Before the 1988 earthquake the index did not
exceed 5%. At present it is more than 10%.
The main reasons of premature births are infections and the poor
psychological situation of women. It is scientifically proved
that premature girls have more chances to survive and adapt to the
environment more easily than boys.

ABRAHAM RETAINS TITLE
A1+
[12:25 pm] 25 September, 2006
Armenian professional boxer Arthur Abraham retained his title of IBF
middleweight champion for the third time in 2006. This time he beat
Edison Miranda from Colombia.
Abraham overcame a broken jaw in round five and numerous low blows from
Miranda to score the win. He came out on top of all three scorecards,
winning by scores of 114-109, 115-109, and 116-109. Miranda suffered
the first defeat in his career.

“HALF THE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TODAY WOULD NOT EXIST”
A1+
[01:27 pm] 25 September, 2006
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian participated in the 10th Bertelsmann
Forum, held in Berlin, Germany, on September 22, 23.
The one and a half day conference convened on Saturday afternoon with
opening remarks by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin, EU Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. The audience of
100+ political leaders, which included former German Foreign Minister
Hans-Dietrich Genscher and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,
heard perspectives on Europe’s Strategic Responses, as the conference
is entitled.
Following the opening session, Minister Oskanian participated in a
panel on The Balkans and the Black Sea – a Litmus Test for Europe. The
panel also included the presidents of Bulgaria, Romania and Azerbaijan,
and the Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Throughout the discussion, Oskanian affirmed that the region’s litmus
test for Europe would be an effective European Neighborhood Policy,
the functionality and integrity of the Black Sea region, and practical
approaches to conflicts.
During a lively discussion on Kosovo, Minister Oskanian cautioned
against denying peoples their right to self-determination, simply
out of political expediency. If the world were guided by a fear of
setting precedents, he said, half the countries in the world today
would not exist. But there has to be strict criteria, he said, and
the chief principle should be whether the state can claim the moral
authority to rule.
The Bertelsmann Foundation is sponsored by the Bertelsmann Group,
the world’s largest publishing company.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MEDAL TO THE AHARONYANS
A1+
[02:05 pm] 25 September, 2006
Mr. and Mrs. Levon and Bella Aharonyans, Armenian philanthropists
from Tehran, have been awarded the “St. Grigor the Illuminator”
medal by Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garegin II, for
many years of beneficent activity.
“Thanks to your activity a number of schools are reconstructed in
different towns of Armenia. As a token of gratitude one of them
has been named after you. You are the well-deserved children of the
Armenian community of Iran”, the Catholicos said.

THE TURKS ARE LEAVING FOR LEBANON WHILE THEIR CASE IS BEING HEARD IN STRASBOURG
A1+
[02:34 pm] 25 September, 2006
Despite the complaints of the Armenian community of Lebanon about
the allocation of the Turkish peace-keepers in the country, the
troupes will leave for Lebanon today. They will consist of a thousand
soldiers. 400 of them represent the naval forces, 500 are infantrymen
and the rest are civilians. By the way, Turkey intends to “use” the
self-proclaimed “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” for sending
soldiers to Lebanon.
By the way, today the plenary session of the European Parliament
starts in Strasbourg where the report of the Foreign Committee of
the Parliament about the reforms in Turkey will be discussed.
In this document the European legislators criticized severely the
Turkish authorities and especially their steps towards the improvement
of the free expression of opinions, and the improvement of relations
with religious and national minorities and Cyprus.
With the same document the members of the European Parliament called
on Turkey to open the border with Armenia and to recognize the Armenian
Genocide. Most probably the heated discussions will concern this point.
According to Hilda Choboyan, head of the Hay Dat European Office,
two political powers of the Parliament, the socialists, and the
liberalists, intend to exclude the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide from the list of commitments of Turkey, Radio station
“Azatutyun” reports.
The socialists are the second in the Parliament by the number of
deputies. The first place belongs to the Christian-democrats who,
according to Hilda Choboyan, defend the requirement of recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.

“WE MUST NOT DISCUSS ALL THE ISSUES ON THE SAME LEVEL”
A1+
[03:30 pm] 25 September, 2006
Participant of the third conference “Armenia-Diaspora” Oshin
Qeshishyan who is the editor of “Armenian Observer” weekly which
has been published in Los Angeles for the last 36 years, thinks that
“the same copied materials were represented during the conference,
whereas we needed specialists more than speeches”.
“It is impossible to hold a conference with 1000 participants. There
were Armenians from different countries and continents, with different
problems. For example, an Armenian from France is interested
in completely different problems from those of an Armenian from
Iran. That’s why we must not discuss all the issues on the same
level. It is noteworthy that no reference was made to the problems
of the Diaspora with the exception of the problem of preserving the
self-consciousness”, Oshin Qeshishyan said.
As for the issue of preservation of originality of the Armenians, Oshin
Qeshishyan mentioned that in California, besides “Armenian Observer”, a
number of other periodicals are published; there are Armenian schools,
three Armenians private round-the-clock TV Channels, etc. Nevertheless,
he did not deny the fact that if there weren’t immigrants from Armenia,
the Armenian community of California would soon be “exhausted”. For
example, in one of the state Universities of Glendale where he works
as lecturer, eight thousand of the 20 thousand students are Armenians,
of which six thousand have migrated from Armenia and study excellently.
As for “Armenian Observer”, the editor said, “Although it is published
in English, it is still an Armenian newspaper as it refers to the
national problems of the local Armenians. It is published in English
as in Armenian it would not be so popular. And now, it is read by
many senators, congressmen and even common Americans. Thus we tell
them about us”.

EAFJD: TURKEY THREATENS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.09.2006 15:05 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Socialist and Liberal groups demand to suppress
the paragraph on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a
precondition to the adhesion of Turkey. Under the pressure exercised by
Turkey, the Socialist and Liberal groups -while being the two principal
promoters of the paragraph in question during the vote of September 4
in the Committee on Foreign Affairs – have performed an about turn by
submitting an amendment which aims to suppress the precondition. These
amendments do not enjoy the unanimity of their groups.
“Turkey has imposed these amendments by intimidating certain members of
the two groups. Several parliamentarians close to the file have even
been personally threatened” declared Hilda Tchoboian, the president
of the European Armenian Federation.
“Turkey, while not in Europe, is attempting to revert and direct
the political line of our European representatives and is imposing
its denial. The recognition of the genocide as a precondition to
the adhesion was adopted in the same terms in the resolution of
September 2005. We warn against this risky strategy which will
offend the European nations in order “not to offend” a state which
is definitively negationist” concluded Hilda Tchoboian.

EU THREE TO COME TO ARMENIA
A1+
[03:46 pm] 25 September, 2006
On October 2 the delegation of the EU Three will arrive in Yerevan
together with Foreign Minister of Finland Erkki Tuomioja.
The delegation will consist of European Union Commissioner for External
Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner,
EU special envoy to Caucasus Peter Semneby, German State Secretary of
Foreign Affairs Gunter Glosser, the Ambassadors of Finland, Germany
and the European Commission to Armenia and other officials.
The delegation will meet President Robert Kocharyan and Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan.