Ceara State of Brazil Recognized Armenian Genocide
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2006 13:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The legislative council of State of Ceara, Brazil,
passed a bill which recognizes April 24 as the Day of the Armenian
People. The Armenian Genocide victims will be hence commemorated on
this day. The Governor of Ceara ratified the bill, reported the RA MFA
press office. The bill introduced by PRONA party member Joan Batista
da Silva was passed unanimously. Ceara is the second Brazilian state
after San Paolo to have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Azerbaijan Jeopardizes Karabakh Peaceful Process
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.07.2006 13:58 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The wordings “both sides” and “two sides” that occur
in the Vienna statement of the OSCE Minsk Group arouse surprise. Three
sides in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict have been recognized in the
OSCE documents long ago,” says the article PanARMENIAN.Net received
from former OSCE MG Russian Co-chair Vladimir Kazimirov.
The Russian diplomat reminded that the U.S. and France assumed the
role of mediators in early 1997, however Russia was a co-chair state
earlier and acted as an independent mediator. “Chairs and Co-chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group used to change. A scope of settlement principles
was worked out long ago. The activities of the mediators base on the
maintenance of ceasefire achieved in 1994 with Russia’s mediation,”
he said.
Vladimir Kazimirov is convinced that the settlement should not
be started with the liberation of the seized territories. “The
Co-chairs mention the stability and guarantees of the peaceful
process in passing. Refusal of all the parties in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict from any attempt to use force should become the
prior principle of settlement. It needs international authentication,
to all appearance by the U.N. Security Council,” the article says. In
the opinion of the OSCE MG former Co-chair it’s mostly Azerbaijan who
jeopardizes the peaceful process at the background of failures in the
war. “It’s obvious. Militaristic statements, calls to armament race
and revenge, stirring up of hatred towards Armenians prove this. It
should also be noted that Baku rejected the mediator’s proposal very
often. Azerbaijan’s positions and arguments should be thoroughly
examined. Baku should be discouraged from the wish to settle the
matter by force and blood,” Vladimir Kazimirov said.

15 PEOPLE START WALKING MARCH FROM GYUMRI TO SHUSHI
Armenpress
GYUMRI, JULY 17, ARMENPRESS: A group of 15 people started on July
15 a ten-day walking journey from Armenia’s second-largest town of
Gyumri to Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh. The march is organized by the
Gyumri municipality and Art company.
The distance between Gyumri and Shushi is 510 kilometers. Participants
of the march want to cover it in ten days, making 50 km a day. Artiom
Tumanian, the chairman of ART company, said the goal is to consolidate
contacts between the two towns, to encourage sport, culture and
art contacts.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES PROMISE ASYLUM TO LEBANESE ARMENIANS
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JULY 17, ARMENPRESS: Armenian authorities promised today
ethnic Armenians from Lebanon the status of ‘temporarily protected
persons’ if they arrive here and ask for it.
Gagik Yeganian, head of a government-affiliated department on refugees
and migrants, said to Armenpress that Lebanese Armenians can ask the
department for asylum, a status that allows them to carry out social,
economic and cultural activity in Armenia.
The asylum is given for a period of 12 months, but it can be
extended. Yeganian said this procedure is effective also with regard
to ethnic Armenians in Iraq. Since 2003 some 391 Iraqi citizens have
been granted asylum in Armenia, the bulk were Iraqi Armenians.
According to various estimates, Lebanon has some 60,000 strong
Armenian community.

Karabakh committee pushes for being party to peace talks
Aravot, Yerevan
14 Jul 06
14 July: “Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is not authorized to
sign any deal or agreement on behalf of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic
[NKR], which has not been recognized by or de jure annexed to Armenia,”
a statement of the organizational committee in defence of the NKR
said yesterday.
The organization also expressed discontent with the methodology of the
OSCE Minsk Group to settle the Nagornyy Karabakh and condemned the
work of Armenia’s diplomatic services “whose inaction has distorted
the essence of the conflict”.
The authors of the statement also demanded that the format of the
[OSCE] Budapest summit, in which the NKR acted as an equal party to
the negotiations, should be restored.

Baku ready to keep on talking on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
TREND, Azerbaijan
July 16 2006
Trend 17/07/2006 01:14
Azerbaijan is ready to keep on talking for peaceful settlement
of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Trend reports quoting Azeri Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov.
He said in the event of necessity Azeri officials, in particular
Mamedyarov himself, might meet in any place and discuss peaceful
settlement. “But the meeting should not pass with no use. There should
be some result, we shall feel our advancement”, minister said.
Commenting co-chairmen statements ‘now initiatives are for the
parties’, Mamedyarov said ‘co-chairmen are appointed to offer the
parties some proposals and coordinate their positions’. He also said
unless there was a necessity in co-chairmen, official Baku would have
conversed with Armenians independently and solved this matter long ago.
“I am optimistic in this matter. Earlier or later, this problem will be
solved. But we want it to be solved faster, as there are many refugees
and IDPs in Azerbaijan who are willing to get home. I believe we will
solve the problem, peacefully or not”, concluded Mamedyarov.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Trapped dancers desperate to flee
Border Mail, Australia
July 17 2006
MEMBERS of an Australian dance troupe stranded in Lebanon are waiting
desperately for the Federal Government to come up with an escape plan.
The 45 young performers and 36 parents and supervisors travelling
with the Sevan Dance Group are bunkered in their Beirut hotel as the
Israeli military continues its bomb attacks on the Lebanese capital.
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday flagged the Federal Government
was working as quickly as possible on a plan to evacuate the group,
and any other stranded Australians, by ferry to Cyprus.
The Sydney-based Armenian dance troupe’s leader, Asadour Hadjian,
has been in regular phone contact with his sister in Australia and
assured her all of the group are safe.
But his sister, Betty Marashlian, said the troupe was desperate to
escape Beirut.
Mrs Marashlian said her brother had been told Australian officials
in Beirut were still working on a plan.
“The officials told everyone to put everything in their handbags and
to forget about their luggage,” she said.
“He said they told us yesterday they will have a plan but it’s not
clear yet.
“They are all afraid. They want to come back home.
The dance troupe performed in Beirut last Tuesday and was meant to
fly out to Sydney last Thursday, but Israeli bomb attacks closed
the airport.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Andzhey Kaspszik wrote 7-page note on arsons on occupied Azeri grounds – Foreign Minister
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
July 14 2006
Author: E.Huseynov
Andzhey Kaspszik, personal representative of acting chairman of OSCE,
has written a 7-page note on arsons taken place on occupied Azeri
grounds,Trend reports quoting Elmar Mamedyarov, Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan.
Mamedyarov said he had talked to Mr Kaspszik, who said he had
submitted this document to OSCE chairman Karel de Gucht, and Azeri
Foreign Ministry will receive it in the beginning of the next week.
Minister said Kaspszik’s field assistants had lead a monitoring on
occupied grounds, after which Kaspszik himself performed a monitoring
around Agdam.
“This is a sign. Nobody will write notes for fun”, Mamedyarov said,
disproving Armenia’s insinuations on not finding any arsons on occupied
grounds during the monitoring.
“Such arsons are an environmental catastrophe and serious steps shall
be taken to prevent this in the future”, Minister added.

Armenia Condemns Israeli Attack On Lebanon
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 14 2006
By Emil Danielyan
Armenia joined Arab nations and the European Union in condemning Israel
for its military action against Lebanon that continued for a third
consecutive day on Friday, heightening tensions in the Middle East.
While denouncing the abduction of two Israeli soldiers and the killing
of eight others by the Hezbollah militia, the Armenian Foreign
Ministry said Israel should stop its air strikes against civilian
targets in Lebanon.
“Armenia condemns any violence whether it be abduction or use of
force,” the ministry said in a statement. “We particularly denounce
the use of such disproportionate force intended solely to collectively
punish civilians and damage infrastructure. This kind of reaction
by Israel is particularly difficult to understand given the fact
that the Lebanese government has clearly distanced itself from the
abduction incident.”
“We hope that there will be restraint in the region and also hope there
will be an immediate ceasefire so that the issues can be addressed
by peaceful means,” added the statement.
Israel launched a widespread bombing campaign in Lebanon and tightened
an air, sea and land blockade of its northern neighbor in response to
Hezbollah’s deadly cross-border attack on its troops. More than 60
civilians in Lebanon and two in Israel have been killed in the worst
bout of fighting since Israel ended its occupation of south Lebanon
six years ago
Israeli air raids on Beirut international airport have disrupted
Lebanon’s air communication with the rest of the world, leaving
thousands of travelers to and from the country stranded in the
region. Among them was Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, who
was returning from a visit to Armenia and – like many – was forced
to make his way home through Syria.
Salloukh’s official visit to Yerevan highlighted warm relations
existing between Armenia and Lebanon and other Arab states that have
large and affluent Armenian communities. Armenians have for decades
been represented in the Lebanese government and parliament. The
country’s President Emile Lahoud is half Armenian.
Israel’s “disproportionate use of force” was criticized on Friday
by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja of Finland, which now holds
the European Union’s rotating presidency. French President Jacques
Chirac likewise said the Israeli military campaign is “completely
disproportionate,” while blasting Hezbollah for its “irresponsible”
stance.
Israel’s actions, however, were effectively justified by U.S.
President George W. Bush who said the Jewish state “has the right to
defend herself.”
(AP-Photolur photo: A Lebanese family cross the river to reach their
village, after Israeli warplanes attacked and damaged the Khardaleh
bridge near Marjayoun village in south Lebanon on Thursday.)

Armenian Public Support for Karabakh Compromise ‘Pointless Now’
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 14 2006
By Anna Saghabalian
The Armenian government will not to seek domestic popular support
for a compromise solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favored by
international mediators until it is accepted by Azerbaijan, Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian indicated on Friday.
In their recent statements that disclosed the essence of the proposed
peace deal, the French, Russian and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group urged the presidents of Armenia to display the necessary
“political will” and prepare their publics for mutual painful
concessions on Karabakh.
“We think the parties would be well-served at this point by allowing
their publics to engage in a robust discussion of the many viewpoints
on those issues,” read their statement issued on June 22. “We are
confident that neither society wants renewed conflict, and we urge
the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work with their publics and
to work with each other to formulate an agreement on core principles
that both find acceptable.”
But according to Oskanian, initiating a public debate in Armenia
will be pointless unless Azerbaijan accepts the Minsk Group plan as
a basis for further negotiations. “I am not making and will not make
any attempts to convince anyone, and especially our people, that the
provisions of that document must be accepted, because the Azerbaijani
side has yet to accept it,” he told reporters.
Official Yerevan has said that it finds the framework peace accord,
which calls for a referendum of self-determination in Karabakh, largely
acceptable to the Armenian side. The Azerbaijani leadership appears
to be less supportive of the proposed formula, with President Ilham
Aliev repeatedly stating that Baku will never agree to Karabakh’s
independence or reunification with Armenia.