THE OFFERS ARE IN FAVOR OF AZERBAIJAN?
A1+
[08:12 pm] 05 June, 2006
There were no statements after today’s meeting of Robert Kocharyan
and Ilham Aliev. And we can only guess what the two Presidents
discussed during the meetings and what offers were made for the
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
The announcement of Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs sheds some light on the issue,
“The co-chairs have offered several ideas which can be basis for the
settlement of the conflict. We have offered the ideas to the heads
of the countries neutrally, without being for or against them. But
as representatives of the USA I have said that we want to see the
territories returned to Azerbaijan and the Azeri people return to
their native lands. We see the interests of both countries. There
are a number of variants. We have offered the most optimal variant
and now everything depends on the Presidents. We think that they are
both serious people. They will investigate the offers made by us.
We do not want to exercise pressure upon them. We just want to help
them as a friend”.

PRIME MINISTER CONTENT WITH BUDGET PERFORMANCE
Panorama.am
13:14 05/06/06
NA standing committees held a joint meeting at the parliament today
reporting on the execution of the law “On 2005 state budget.” Atom
Janjughazyan, vice minister of finance and economy presented the draft.
Main variations from the stipulated budget are connected with credit
and grant programs by foreign funding. They are not connected with
the performance of the government, he said.
Answering to the questions of reporters, prime minister Andranik
Margaryan said, “I am content with the level of performance.” The
government head said it is not possible to ensure 100 % execution
of the budget since credits and grants delayed on objective and
subjective reasons. The budget ensured 99,9% income flow – with 100%
tax and non-tax revenues and 99,6% state dues.
The alienation of land ensured 99,4% budget revenues.
In terms of expenditures, 97,1% performance is ensured and deficit
funding was performed by 78,3%. Armenia is provided only 59% of the
planned credits. However, the country could pay back credits on its
own means.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IF I WERE NATURE PROTECTION MINISTER
Panorama.am
13:20 05/06/06
4th grade schoolchildren of school N 154 wrote essays on the topic
“if I were a nature protection minister.”
They pictured our planet with dark colors- dead animals, death, cut
trees. In tomorrow’s planet they wrote about green environment with
lots of flowers and children playing in green zones. They called in
their essays not to cut trees and protect the nature.
During the meeting in Orhus center, Margarita KHACHATRYAN, teacher
of biology from the same schools said that one of the students even
wrote in the essay that he would plant gardens out of town and would
not allow the adults to go there. To the question why he would do so,
he answered, “adults only damage the environment.”
The programs are initiated within the World day on Environment
Protection. OSCE has organized courses at schools and distributed
leaflets on environment on the occasion. “Children must be educated to
love nature without which a human being cannot live,” OSCE Ambassador
Vladimir Priakhin said.
Children are also interested in the sale of genetically modified food,
particularly of Turkish origin. Amalia Hambarzumyan, head of Khazer
non-profit organization, advised the children not to buy food which
is labeled genetically modified.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BUDGET PERFORMANCE IS NOT A PILE OF NUMBERS, NA SPEAKER SAYS
Panorama.am
13:15 05/06/06
“Percentages and numbers are important but they should be supplemented
with additional information that explains them,” Tigran Torosyan,
NA Speaker said speaking about last year’s budget performance
discussions. He advised to supplement the numbers with content to
Atom Janjughazyan, chief treasurer and vice minister of finance and
economy. “We have had good budget performance for many years but have
presented it as a pile of numbers only,” Torosyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COMMENTARY: HARD LESSONS FROM PBS DOCUMENTARY SAGA
By Vicken Babkenian
The California Courier,
June 5 2006
Why is it that the producer of an outstanding documentary on the
Armenian Genocide has had to rethink his relationship with the
Armenian community?
Andrew Goldberg wrote, directed and produced The Armenian Genocide.
He is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker, having produced three other
Armenian themed documentaries. He has worked with CNN, ABC News,
MSNBC, Fox News and PBS.
The controversy surrounding Goldberg’s film began when it was revealed
that a panel discussion, featuring two denialists, was to be aired
by PBS after its broadcast of the documentary. Many members of the
Armenian community, including leading newspapers and organizations,
launched a campaign to voice their profound opposition to the
panel discussion. Criticism was mainly directed at Jacoba Atlas, a
programming executive at PBS, calling for her resignation for having an
“anti-Armenian Genocide” stance.
Criticisms were also directed at Andrew Goldberg – despite
his opposition to the panel – for perceived shortcomings in his
documentary. Allegations were made that Goldberg had ‘caved in’ to
pressure from PBS to revise the contents of the documentary, with
some Armenian journalists asserting that its inclusion of footage on
Turkish denialists was a direct outcome of this pressure. He was also
accused of “seeking fame and fortune at the expense of the truth,
and exhibiting a carreerist attitude.”
Networks make programming decisions, and one may infer the views of
their executives from such decisions. By broadcasting Armenian Journey
in 1988, The Great War in 1991, Images of the Armenian Spirit in 2003,
and now The Armenian Genocide, PBS has done much to support programming
on the Armenian Genocide.
According to Andrew Goldberg, he was not forced, coerced or pressured
by PBS to make any changes – his work, rather, was the outcome of an
ongoing collaboration with PBS. Further, the editorial body for The
Armenian Genocide included Peter Balakian, Ronald Grigor Suny and Muge
Gocek. It is true that requests for script changes were made by PBS,
but ultimately it was the editorial body which made the decisions
about content. As a result, the Turkish denial presented in the film
was very well contextualized and, in a sense, “quarantined.”
Armenian Genocide denial was made easily identifiable to the uninformed
viewer for what it was – intellectual and moral garbage.
Despite an industry-wide reluctance to deal with such a contentious
subject, Goldberg was able to use his experience and marketing
savvy to have the Armenian story told to millions of people in the
United States and around the world. In the campaign for recognition,
Andrew has been an invaluable ally in the battle of “Memory against
Forgetting” and “Knowledge against Ignorance.” Thanks to Andrew,
millions of people saw Raphael Lemkin – the man who coined the term
“genocide” – utter the words “It happened to the Armenians.”
Armenians should be careful not to antagonize those who are their
allies in the fight for recognition. Constructive criticism is fine;
unjustified personal attacks and insinuations are not.
As a result of these and other hurtful actions, Andrew has decided
to halt producing documentaries on the Armenian Genocide. It seems
that he will not be making a sequel to The Armenian Genocide, which
had been in the pipeline.
What precedent have Armenians set for other non-Armenians who may
want to help them in their struggle?
Vicken Babkenian Armenian Genocide Research Unit Australian Institute
for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Shalom College, University of New
South Wales Sydney, Australia.

SITTING OF AZERI-TURKISH ORGANIZATIONS TO BE HELD IN ANTALIA
ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 11:12
Azeri-Turkish organizations launching activity in different countries
of the world will hold a sitting in Antalia today. 200 people from
30countries are expected to participate in the sitting, “Noyyan Tapan”
informs referring to TRT TV Channel.
Participants of the event will discuss the joint measures to prevent
dissemination of the Armenian policy of the “fictitious” genocide
carried out in the Osman Empire.

ARMENIAN RUGBY TEAM – WINNER OF GROUP B OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 12:55
The rugby team of Armenia scored 18:3 against the Lithuanian team
and became the winner of Group B of the European Championship. Now
it has to hold a play-off meeting with the team that occupied the
last place in Group A.
The Armenian rugby team comprises mostly professional rugby players
from France.

THOUSANDS WELCOME THE OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS
ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 11:40
Armenian chess players, who achieved the Olympic gold in Turin,
arrived in Yerevan this night. The event was turned into a real
nationwide celebration.
Despite the late hour, thousands of people gathered at the Liberty
Square of Yerevan to welcome members of our chess team.
Olympic Champions Vladimir Hakobyan, Gabriel Sargsyan, Artashes
Minasyan, Smbat Lputyan and Karen Asryan entered the Liberty Square
accompanied by Chairman of the National Assembly, Prime Minister,
Defense Minister, Mayor of Yerevan and other officials.
“In team tournaments there is nothing higher than this cup, and
we hope we’ ll keep the Olympic Cup for as long as possible,” said
Artashed Minasyan in his address to the people.
Lifting the Armenian tricolor, Karen Asryan said, “There was no doubt
that we would win. The Defense Minister was accompanying us, and we
had no right to fail to come up to the expectations of people.” Gabriel
Sargsyan was very excited and said he did not expect such reception.
Head of RA Chess Federation, Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
congratulated everyone with the victory of Armenian sports, Armenian
mind. “The chess players managed to fulfill the hopes of the people,
and managed to bring the faith of the nation to victory in Turin. I
sincerely assure you that your support from Yerevan was most essential
for the guys. If not your support, they would hardly reach the Olympic
peak,” noted Serge Sargsyan, adding that this is the first serious
victory and other victories are still ahead.

INTERNAL NETWORKS OF 1 665 MULTI-APARTMENT BUILDINGS IN YEREVAN HAVE BEEN RECONSTRUCTED
ArmRadio.am
06.06.2006 13:25
The Social Development Fund of Japan has provided a US$1 million grant
for improvement of water supply systems of multi-apartment buildings
in Yerevan.
Internal networks of 1 665 multi-apartment buildings have been
reconstructed under the program launched in 2003. By August the number
will reach 1 750.
About 2 600 water meters have been installed in houses of the needy.
Due to the program accomplished with the immediate participation
of condominiums, every family will save 1 250 drams monthly. Every
building will save 113 cubic meters of water in the average.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROMANIA: BLACK SEA FORUM DISCUSSES “FROZEN CONFLICTS” IN ARMENIA, MOLDOVA
Rompres news agency, Bucharest
5 Jun 06
Bucharest, 5 June: The Black Sea Forum for Partnership and Dialogue
organized in Bucharest was an opportunity for Armenian and Azeri
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev to resume dialogue
regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
Romanian President Traian Basescu specified during the Forum
discussions that the heads of the two Caucasian states have taken
advantage of their presence at the event to resume negotiations on
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
According to the Romanian chief of state, Presidents Aliyev and
Kocharian had a round of talks on Sunday 4 June and top-level
negotiations will continue with a new round scheduled for after the
end of the summit in Bucharest.
President Kocharian stated at the summit that the Caucasian states
are divided by ethnic conflicts and the Forum organized by Romania
“offers the favourable setting” for the solving of these conflicts.
“We are willing to continue the dialogue with Azerbaijan in order
to have the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh settled, and with Turkey,
with a view to establishing relations free of any preconditions,”
said the head of the Armenian state.
On the other hand, President Aliyev hailed the initiative of the
launch of the Black Sea Forum, because it offers the possibility for
a common approach of the “continuous threat of the frozen conflicts
in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Dniester Region,
that all have the same causes and the same effect, the infringement
of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic
of Moldova”.
Aliyev underscored that a discussion regarding the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan is out of question, that the authorities in
Baku cannot tolerate or acknowledge illegal entities on the national
territory and called on the international community not to legitimate
these breakaway regimes.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili too underscored that the
Black Sea region includes areas with lasting oppressive regimes that
infringe on human rights every day by forbidding people to speak
their mother tongue and freely use their culture, tradition and
religion. Saakashvili called the separatist regimes in the region
that have survived here for more than a decade “the democracies of
the cannibals” – built on crimes and territory violation of sovereign
states in the early ’90s – and asked the international community not to
accept the legalization thereof. The Georgian president underscored
that his country would continue negotiations with the Russian
Federation for the withdrawal of the troops from Georgia’s national
territory, but insisted that the talks be carried on equal footing.
President of the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, voiced
discontent that the statement adopted by the summit of the Forum in
Bucharest “mentions only in passing the failure to settle the frozen
conflicts” and that the subject is not approached “directly and
unambiguously”. “The separatism of Dniester Region, which challenges
the Republic of Moldova, is induced and supported from outside. We can
no longer keep silent because we are convinced that only by publicly
and straightforwardly asserting this can we get closer to the quick
settlement of this conflict,” said President Voronin.
The final statement adopted in Bucharest by the state representatives
of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, the Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Turkey points out that the “unsettled
conflicts in certain states in the Black Sea region are a challenge
to regional security and stability”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress