ARMENIA OFFERS SPECIAL FORCES TO QUELL AZERI PROTESTS IN IRAN – ACTIVIST
Azerbaijani news agency APA, Baku
1 Jun 06
Baku, 1 June: The Armenian ambassador to Iran, Gegam Garibdzhanyan,
suggested during secret talks with the Iranian government that
his country can send military forces to crush protests in southern
Azerbaijan [northwestern Iran], Sirus Azadi, a member of the World
Azerbaijani Congress and the committee to support the National Movement
of Southern Azerbaijan, has told APA.
There is no doubt that the sides have secured some kind of agreement,
Azadi said. “It is possible that special forces will be brought from
Armenia to crush protests in southern Azerbaijan.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BELARUS TO HOST JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE WITH RUSSIA IN JUNE
Belapan news agency, Minsk
1 Jun 06
Minsk, 1 June: For the first time the [Belarusian-Russian] Union
Shield-2006 command-post exercise involving the command bodies of
the 20th Army of the Moscow Military District [to be held in Belarus
on 17-25 June] “will test the functioning of not only the command
structures of the regional military group of the two countries but will
also assess its efficiency and viability. This, in turn, will allow
us to set development priorities in view of modern warfare methods
and cutting-edge information technologies,” Lt-Gen Syarhey Hurulyow,
chief of the armed forces’ General Staff and first deputy minister
of defence, said at a news conference in Minsk today.
He said the main goal of the exercise, which will be held in Belarus
on 17-25 June, will include “the assessment of the capability of
command bodies of units of the Belarusian and Russian armed forces
to fulfil tasks dealing with the union state’s armed defence within
the framework of the regional group of forces”.
[Passage omitted: minor details]
About 8,800 servicemen, including about 7,000 Belarusians and 1,800
Russians will participate in the manoeuvres along with more than 40
tanks, about 180 armoured combat vehicles, more than 40 artillery
pieces, 30 multiple fire rocket systems, six helicopters and 23
military planes from Belarus, and six helicopters and 13 military
planes from Russia.
The exercise’s practical stage will be held at three ranges of the
Belarusian armed forces in Brest and Hrodna regions. Representatives
of more than 40 states will be invited to observe the exercise.
Hurulyow said that the observation of the exercise’s active phase
by the heads of member states of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization [CSTO, member states are Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus,
Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan] and by the [CSTO] defence ministers
and the secretaries of security councils at the Abuz-Lyasnowski range
on 24 June is being considered at present.
About 1.9m dollars will be allocated for the manoeuvres by both sides
in proportion to their involvement.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN KAZAKHSTAN TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC TIES
Khabar Television, Almaty
1 Jun 06
[Presenter] The head of state [Nursultan Nazarbayev] received the
Armenian foreign minister today. Vardan Oskanyan has come to Kazakhstan
to expand political, economic and cultural cooperation.
Trade between Kazakhstan and Armenia exceeded 45m dollars last year.
Relations between the two countries are based on the principles of
mutual understanding and respect, the high-ranking guest from Yerevan
noted at a press briefing.
[Vardan Oskanyan, in English with Russian translation overlaid] We
view Kazakhstan as a major regional leader. We therefore would like
our relations to develop as deep and broadly as possible. There are
no political disagreements between our two countries. A great number
of political agreements have been signed and an intergovernmental
commission is working. We agree that great significance should be
attached to developing our economic relations.

TOO EARLY TO DEPLOY PEACEKEEPERS IN KARABAKH – ARMENIAN OFFICIAL
Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow
1 Jun 06
Yerevan. 1 June: Armenia’s Foreign Ministry believes it is too early
to consider a possible deployment of peacekeepers in the conflict
zone in Nagornyy Karabakh.
“At present there are no final agreements concerning the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict, so it is premature to speak about a deployment of
peacekeepers,” a representative of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry told
Interfax on Thursday [1 June].
The Armenian diplomat also refused to comment on the possibility
of sending CIS peacekeepers to the conflict zone in case Baku and
Yerevan reach an agreement on a settlement.
Armen Rustamyan, the chairman of the foreign policy parliamentary
commission, told Interfax “at present it is too early to talk about
the possible presence of any peacekeeping forces in the zone of the
Karabakh conflict”.
“The issue of peacekeepers’ deployment in the conflict area is only
a component of the whole package on the Karabakh settlement, and it
makes no sense to comment on it separately,” said the MP.
“We think that all issues concerning the possible deployment of a
peacekeeping force in the zone of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
can be discussed only when some agreement on the Karabakh settlement
has been reached but not apart from the general package of issues,”
said Rustamyan.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTS HEADS OF TWO STANDING COMMITTEES
ArmRadio.am
02.06.2006 13:58
Elections of Heads of NA Standing Committees on Defense, National
Security and Domestic Affairs and Social, Health and Ecology Issues
started today at the National Assembly. For the first position the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation suggested Aramayis Grigoryan’s
candidacy. In response to this, Hmayak Hovhannisyan suggested the
candidacy of former Head of the Committee Mher Shahgeldyan representing
Orinats Yerkir Party. Secretary of the opposition Justice Block Viktor
Dallakyan suggested Hmayak Hovhannisyan’s candidacy. The latter changed
his decision, suggesting Viktor Dallakyan’s candidacy for the position.
The newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly Tigran Torosyan
called on the Deputies to take their duties more seriously. To
avoid further disagreements the Chairman informed that Gagik Mkheyan
(Orinats Yerkir), former Head of the Committee on Social, Health and
Ecology issues, has no intention of being suggested for the position.

CALLS FOR FREEDOM MAKE THE JIGSAW OF EUROPE MORE COMPLICATED THAN EVER
By Jeremy Page and Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
The Times
June 02, 2006
MOST people would struggle to point out Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya
Respublika on a map, let alone pronounce it.
Those who can, know it as a hotbed of smuggling, the site of a vast
Soviet-era weapons dump, or perhaps the home of Sheriff Tiraspol
football club.
But this tiny sliver of land, known in English as Transdniestr, is
the latest European enclave to make a bid for independence following
Montenegro’s decision to declare statehood last month.
Igor Smirnov, Transdniestr’s “President”, has announced that its
550,000 people will vote in a referendum in September on whether to
seek formal independence from Moldova.
“The recent example of Montenegro proves that a referendum is
becoming a norm for solving conflicts,”, said Mr Smirnov, 64, a
former metalworker.
In the unlikely event that Transdniestr wins independence, it would
become Europe’s 19th new country since the collapse of communism in
1989, and the fragmentation goes on.
>From the Basques of Spain to Turkey’s Kurds, there are minorities
who yearn for a country of their own, and Montenegro’s example has
kindled hopes that even tiny enclaves in Europe’s forgotten corners
can still become viable states.
The fear is that declarations of independence by mini-states could
spark fresh instability in already unstable regions.
In the Balkans, Montenegro’s independence drive is likely to be
followed by Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian province of
Serbia. That could spark fresh moves by the ethnic Serb Republika
Srpska to break away from Bosnia, and Herceg-Bosna’s Croats to join
Croatia.
In the Caucasus, Russia is still struggling to contain the
separatist rebellion in Chechnya. Georgia is split by breakaway
regions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There is still no resolution to
Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave in Azerbaijan that is controlled
by Armenia.
Not even Western Europe is immune. Nationalists in Northern
Ireland still seek a united Ireland. Scotland is in theory closer
to independence that at any time since the Act of Union with England
300 years ago. Separatist movements are active in the Basque country,
Corsica, Sardinia and Italy.
As for Europe’s newest would-be state, Transdniestr broke away from
Moldova in 1990 and the two sides fought a war in 1992 that left more
than 1,500 people dead. Although never recognised internationally,
it has close ties to Russia, which helped the ethnic Russians in the
war and has maintained 1,500 troops there.
Officially, they are there to keep the peace and guard a stockpile of
40,000 tonnes of weapons stored there in case of a Nato invasion. In
reality, this remains Moscow’s westernmost strategic outpost —
a bulwark against the expanding EU and Nato. It is also a haven for
money-laundering, smuggling and illegal weapons sales.
Mr Smirnov runs it as a personal fiefdom, financed by local oligarchs
and propped up by nostalgia for the Soviet Union. It has its own
currency based on the old Soviet rouble, uses the old Soviet Moldovan
flag, and stages annual Soviet-style military parades. Police wear
uniforms bearing the hammer and sickle.
There is no direct telephone link to Moldova and no mobile
network. Shop windows display tawdry goods from the 1970s and
1980s. The only redeeming feature is Moldova’s only FIFA-approved
football stadium, which is home to the country’s top football club,
Sheriff Tiraspol.
Peace talks, mediated by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe, have stalled over Transdniestr’s refusal to accept autonomy
within a Moldovan state. Russia has backed the referendum.
Karel De Gucht, the Belgian Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman, has
said that there is no legal basis for a referendum and urged both
sides to return to the negotiating table.

KILLING ON A COMMUTER TRAIN
by Rustam Taktashev
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
May 31, 2006 Wednesday
Armenian youngster killed in another racist attack
A group of young men yelling “Glory to Russia” stabbed an Armenian
teenager to death last week on a crowded commuter train, prosecutors
and the lawyer of the victim’s family said Tuesday. Prosecutors are
classifying the fatal attack as a hate crime.
Artur Sardaryan, 19, was on the train at about 11 p.m. Thursday when
he was approached by the assailants and repeatedly stabbed in the
chest with a knife, said Yelena Rossokhina, a spokeswoman for the
Moscow region prosecutor’s office. There were thought to be about
20 people on the train, heading from Moscow to the city of Pushkino,
at the time of the attack.
No suspects had been detained as of Tuesday.
“According to witnesses, the killers were yelling, ‘Glory to Russia’
and ‘Long live Russia,'” said Simon Tsaturyan, the Sardaryan family’s
lawyer. Tsaturyan said the attackers pulled the train’s emergency
lever after stabbing Sardaryan and fled the scene. Sardaryan died
on the spot, Tsaturyan said. The lawyer added he did not know why it
took the authorities five days before issuing any public statements
about the stabbing. Rossokhina did not comment on the time lag.
Sardaryan was a Russian citizen.
The killing came one month after a 17-year-old ethnic Armenian was
stabbed to death on the platform of the Pushkinksaya metro station
in central Moscow. There have been numerous hate crimes across the
country in recent months, with victims including Africans, Central
Asians and other dark-skinned people. President Vladimir Putin,
in his Victory Day speech earlier this month, linked skinheads and
other violent extremists with the fascists of the previous century.

DIPLOMAT’S SON SAYS HE NEVER THOUGHT HE’D BE ONE HIMSELF
Embassy, Canada
May 31 2006
Arman Akopian, the new Minister Counsellor and Charge d’Affaires at
the Embassy of Armenia, grew up the son of a diplomat, but he never
thought he would one day become one himself.
At a young age, Mr. Akopian embarked on an academic career in Arabic,
Hebrew and Aramaic studies at Yerevan State University in Armenia. At
that time, Armenia was part of the Soviet Union and Mr. Akopian says
opportunities for a career in diplomacy were limited. But that changed
when the Soviet Union collapsed and Armenia became independent in 1991.
But still, Mr. Akopian says he didn’t give any thought to following in
his father’s footsteps in the Foreign Service, and continued teaching
at the university. Then he was invited to join the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs as a desk officer in the Middle East Department.
In 1992, he was posted to Egypt as Second Secretary in the political,
economical and cultural affairs section of the Armenian mission
in Cairo.
“It took me two months to get used to it,” says Mr. Akopian, 42.
After his Egypt posting ended in 1995, Mr. Akopian was promoted to
the position of Second Secretary in the Middle East Department in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later he became First Secretary and
a member of Armenia’s foreign policy planning group.
Towards the late 1990s, Mr. Akopian became Director of the Middle
East Department. In 1999 he was posted to New York as Counsellor at
Armenia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations. In 2002, he became
Director of the Department of Arms Control and International Security
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Akopian arrived in Ottawa two weeks ago. He replaces Ambassador
Ara Papian, who left for Armenia early this year. But even though he
became a diplomat, Mr. Akopian continues to teach at the university
whenever he is working in Yerevan. He admits that he is still deeply
attached to academia and relishes every chance he gets to teach.
“Teaching young people is refreshing, it keeps you away from being
bureaucratic,” he says. Mr. Akopian says he chose to come to Canada
because of interactions with Canadians in multilateral forums like
NATO and the UN.
“I already had a very good knowledge about Canada even before coming
here,” he says, adding that he hopes to add to the cordial relations
between Armenia and Canada. Mr. Akopian is married and has two
daughters. In his free time he likes fencing, studying and playing
classical guitar and reading. In addition he also likes studying
languages and spending time with his family. Mr. Akopian speaks
Armenian, English, French, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin
and is the author of two books on modern Hebrew and classical Syriac,
an eastern Aramaic language.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EXPERTS NEED ABOUT 2 MONTHS TO ANALYSE DATA FROM CRASHED PLANE
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 31, 2006 Wednesday
It will take a month and a half to two months to analyse data in the
flight data recorders from the Armenian Airbus-320 passenger plane
that crashed in the Black Sea off Sochi on May 3, Transport Minister
Igor Levitin said.
He said about 300 parameters would need to be analysed.
Levitin said Armenian specialists would help with the work because
conversations among the pilots and between the plane and ground
control were in Armenian.
Two flight data recorders from the plane were brought to Paris last
Saturday. Specialists will examine and open the so-called “black
boxes” to retrieve memory microchips that record different flight
data parameters and conversations in the cockpit.
After that the recordings will be analysed in Moscow by experts from
Russia, Armenia, and France.
The head of the CIS Interstate Aviation Committee, Tatyana Anodina,
said 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

IVANOV COMMENTING ON SITUATION IN TRANSCAUCASIAN REGION
by Alexander Konovalov, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 31, 2006 Wednesday
The withdrawal of part of Russian armaments and military hardware
from Georgia to the Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, cannot
destabilise the military-political situation in the region, Russian
Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said here on Wednesday.
“Part of military equipment and hardware is really being withdrawn from
Akhalkalaki to the Russian military base of Gyumri. This cannot bring
about the destabilisation of the military-political situation in the
region, especially in view of the fact that the withdrawal does not
violate flank restrictions within the framework of the Conventional
Force in Europe Treaty (CFE),” he said at a press conference after
the end of the meeting of the CIS Council of Defence Ministers in Baku.
The most important thing is that “any scheme of the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, imposed from the outside, is not only
counterproductive, but also dangerous,” Ivanov continued. “A final
scheme of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement should be based on agreements
reached by Armenia and Azerbaijan. In this case the guarantor countries
will take any steps for ensuring the fulfilment of the agreements,
while a difference way, which is sometimes imposed on us, is a way
nowhere,” Ivanov said.
Explaining Russia’s official stand on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem,
Ivanov stressed that Moscow favoured its peaceful political
settlement. “Contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan within framework
of the Minsk Group under OSCE, with the mediation of Russia, the
United States and France, are going on rather regularly,” he added.