ARMENIAN-FRENCH GROUP ACCUSES TURKEY OF BLACKMAILING FRENCH LEGISLATORS INTO OPPOSING BILL
AP Worldstream
May 15, 2006
An umbrella group accused Turkey of trying to blackmail French
lawmakers into opposing proposed legislation making it a crime to
deny that the killings of Armenians in World War I was genocide.
The Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations in France said
Ankara was trying to exert pressure on France with letter-writing
campaigns to French lawmakers and threats of an economic boycott.
On Thursday, the French National Assembly is set to consider a bill,
presented by the opposition Socialists, that would make it a crime to
deny the Armenian genocide of 1915. It is already a crime in France
to deny the Holocaust.
Last week, Turkey briefly recalled its ambassador to France in protest,
and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told French corporate
leaders that the bill would damage bilateral ties.
“The Armenian genocide: Turkey’s unacceptable blackmail,” the council
said in a statement.
Turkey also complained recently about a resolution adopted by Canada’s
parliament that recognizes the killings as genocide.
The French Foreign Ministry said last week France was “very attentive”
to Turkish authorities’ concerns.
Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed as the Ottoman
Empire forced them from eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923 _ and
that it was a deliberate campaign of genocide by Turkey’s rulers.
Turks say the figure is inflated and insist that Armenians were killed
or displaced as the Ottoman Empire tried to secure its border with
Russia and stop attacks by Armenian militants.
The chances of the bill passing in the French assembly appeared slim.
The National Assembly is overwhelmingly controlled by President
Jacques Chirac’s conservatives, who have not passed a bill floated
by the Socialist opposition since they took over parliament in 2002.

TURKISH BODY CALLS ON FRENCH PARLIAMENT TO REJECT ARMENIAN “GENOCIDE” BILL
Anatolia news agency
16 May 06
Ankara, 16 May: The National Security and Strategic Studies Association
(UGSAD) sent a letter to French Parliament Speaker Jean Louis Debre
on Tuesday [16 May], and called on him to reject the draft law, which
was submitted to the French parliament with the aim of punishing
individuals who deny so-called Armenian genocide.
In its letter, UGSAD stressed that the draft was against human rights,
democracy and understanding of law.
“It is quite offensive if a parliament makes unilateral decisions on
issues concerning another country. Such a draft will overshadow the
friendly relations between Turkey and France. Scientific researches,
which were carried out on the basis of documents of western sources,
revealed that Armenian allegations were totally baseless. When we
compare Armenian population before 1914 and after the World War I,
we can easily see inconsistency of such claims that 1.5 million
Armenians were killed. Although Turkey has opened all its archives,
Armenia constantly refrains from opening its archives,” it said.
UGSAD emphasized that Turkey would never recognize so-called Armenian
genocide as it had never committed such a thing in its history.
“Historical facts cannot be changed through such laws. If the draft is
approved, it will inevitably play havoc with Turkey-France relations,”
it added.

TOP ARMY OFFICER SAYS RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN RELATIONS UNABATED
Armenpress
May 16 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. A top Armenian army officer downplayed
today the significance of a chain of swift political developments
in Armenia resulting in resignation of parliament chairman Arthur
Baghdasarian and the withdrawal of his Orinats Yerkir party from the
ruling coalition for Russian-Armenian relations, saying they remain
as solid as they used to be.
“Linking political developments in Armenia with Armenian-Russian
relationships is wrong,” Mikael Harutunian, chief of staff of Armenian
armed forces said today in the Russian embassy after being awarded
a Russian medal.
Mikael Harutunian recalled that both Armenian president and its
defense minister have many a time declared that Armenia and Russia
are strategic partners, however he added, “We likewise want to build
good relations with other countries, with Europe and NATO, but we also
say that Armenia’s accession with NATO is not on our agenda. Armenia
is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
and cannot be simultaneously in NATO,” he said. Harutunian described
Armenia’s relations with NATO as normal, which he said are proceeding
in line with Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP).
Apart from Harutunian, another top army officer, Gurgen Dalibaltayan,
Armenian chief prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepian, a businessman Mikhail
Baghdasarov and some others were awarded Russian medals. Defense
minister Serzh Sarkisian was also to be awarded, but he did not attend
the ceremony because of heavy schedule.

VERSION: SHOOTING ABOARD A-320 AT MOMENT OF CRASH
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 15:57 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ At the moment of coming in land some passengers
manages to call relatives – their cellular phones broadcast everything
happening in the saloon at those tragic moments, the Zhizn newspaper
writes.
“Everyone in Yerevan speak that sounds like shooting were heard before
the plane fell,” states journalist of the Novoye Vremya Armenian
newspaper Nora Kananova.
In her words, “Allegedly former Security Service chief Karlos Petrosyan
got a call late at night from his son Aram, who was aboard A-320
airbus and shots were heard. It was the moment, when the plane fell
into the sea…”
Meanwhile, Zvartnots Yerevan airport security service states there were
no armed people among passengers of the crashed liner. “It is ruled
out. We admit only those armed people aboard, who are licensed.” said
airport Spokesperson Gevorg Abrahamyan. There were several people
aboard the plane who had licenses for carrying arms, however the
security service states they were unarmed in the saloon. Only the
crew had arms.
However, in experts’ opinion, relatives could take sounds of
the tearing edging for shots. “There was no explosion when A-320
fell. However, overload was so powerful that the liner was torn at
the last moments.
The sound is very much like shots. Most probably the relatives heard
sounds of the collapsing airplane,” said an expert, who investigates
the causes of the air crash. “The crew would have reported about
shooting aboard, however the pilots did not report about any emergency
situations. Or maybe they did not have time?
However, if there was shooting, its signs would have been found on
fragments of the plane, but not such are found,” the Zhizn writes.
On the night of May 3 a Yerevan-Sochi plane of Armavia Armenian air
company crashed in the Black Sea 6 km away from Adler airport. All
113 passengers, including 6 children and 8 members of the crew, died
as a result. Among them were 26 Russian citizens, one Ukrainian and
one Georgian citizen, while the rest were Armenian citizens.

OSKANIAN SEES NO LINK BETWEEN KARABAKH PROCESS AND DOMESTIC SITUATION IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 16:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian does not link Karabakh
process and domestic situation in Armenia, he told journalists in
Yerevan. “The process takes its normal course and I do not think
domestic situation in Armenia can influence it, at least at present,”
the diplomat underscored.
At the same time Oskanian found it difficult to name certain terms
of settlement of the conflict, connecting it with the duration of
the talks over Nagorno Karabakh. “At the moment the approaches of
both parties to solution of the issue are not registered yet, thus
speaking of solving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict soon is premature,”
the Armenian FM noted. Oskanian hoped for the probability of that to
become possible in the near future, reports Novosti-Armenia.

RUSSIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER: WEATHER CAUSED A-320 CRASH
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 16:31 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The catastrophe of the Armenian airbus near Sochi
was a result of the pilots not taking into account hard weather
conditions, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Army General
Vladimir Mikhailov stated. “They did not take into account weather
conditions. The weather caused it. We will get the airborne recorders,
decode them and it will be confirmed,” Mikhailov said.
“Commander’s decision to return means it was necessary to
return. Decisions should never be changed. This results in serious
consequences,” the Commander-in-Chief said.
Mikhailov added that Russian military specialists, including those of
the 13th State Research Institute of the Russian Defense Ministry,
are ready to assist in decoding of the flight recorders, Russian
media report.
On the night of May 3 A-320 plane of Armavia Armenian air company,
flying from Yerevan to Sochi, crashed in the Black Sea 6 km away from
Adler airport. All 113 passengers, including 6 children and 8 members
of the crew, died as a result. Among them were 26 Russian citizens,
one Ukrainian and one Georgian citizen, while the rest were Armenian
citizens.

IRAN HAMPERS ADVANCE OF RUSSIA-ARMENIA COOPERATION, MOSCOW PROFESSOR SUPPOSES
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 17:30 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Presence fo observers at elections is compulsory,
however it should be systematic, Chair of the Department of Comparative
Political Science of Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Mikhail Ilyin said, when answering a question on differences of
assessment of the elections in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan by
CIS and OSCE observer missions. In his words, the role of observers
lies in providing equal assessment of elections in any country. “An
absolutely impartial assessment by experts is impossible. However,
this does not mean that observers are not necessary. As of standards,
they are present always – dual, triple, as interested parties often
assume the role of experts,” Ilyin noted.
As of Russian policy in the South Caucasus, Ilyin said, “in case of
Armenia there are far less problems, than with Azerbaijan, to say
nothing of Georgia. A major issue form advancement of relations and
cooperation with Armenia is absence of a common border, as well as
Iran. However, I believe there is a good potential for expanding
cooperation between the two countries.”
In his words, there are more problems with Azerbaijan and these relate
to oil and gas sector, as well as that country’s relations with Iran.
“Worsening of Russian-Georgian relations is linked with many factors,
most important of these being not constructive policy of the Georgian
authorities.
However, I hope Russia will not interfere with Georgia’s internal
affairs, especially in settlement of the Ossetian conflict,” the
professor said.

KRONER: ANKARA WILL FINALLY HAVE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 17:51 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ May 16 Secretary General of the International
European Movement (IEM) Henrik H. Kroner visited Armenian Genocide
Memorial to pay homage to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in
1915. Mr. Kroner was accompanied by Victor Yengibarian, head of the
organization’s mission to Armenia, and Kiro Manoyan, director of
ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office. In the book of
the Genocide Museum Kroner inscribed: “Let’s hope no such genocide
will take place again in Europe and world. And the European values
are the guarantees of our unification.”
Speaking to journalists Kroner said it is a shame this crime has not
been recognized thus far. “The European Union has been established to
avoid such tragedies in the future. I think Turkey will never become
an EU member unless it admits its past. The process has just begun
and will take many years. Ankara will have to yield in the end,”
Kroner said.
Kiro Manoyan, director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political
Affairs Office, said Turkey deserves a thank-you to an extent because
it was due to its denialist policy that the Armenian Genocide issue was
raised and Turkey came under criticism, reports the Yerkir newspaper.

NATIONAL POLICE COMPUTER NETWORK TO BE DEVELOPED IN ARMENIA
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 18:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On May 16 at the US Embassy in Yerevan, a contract
for $699,000 for development of theNational Police Computer Network
will be signed.
The company AEAI (Advanced Engineering Associates International)
with its Armenian partner Yerevan Computer Research and Development
Institute (YCRDI) have been selected by the US Embassy to develop
the Network. This Project is included in the Letter of Agreement on
Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement between the Government of the
United States of America and the Government of Armenia. The specific
goal of this project will be to increase the ability of Armenian law
enforcement to conduct timely investigations, assist in the refinement
of all law enforcement databases to increase sharing between law
enforcement agencies, improve Armenia’s ability to access international
criminal databases and shorten the time it takes U.S. and Armenian law
enforcement to ascertain the whereabouts of suspected international
criminals. This program seeks to create synergy between on-going
assistance efforts with the Armenian Border Guard, Customs, Police and
Interpol, the General Procuracy and all other law enforcement entities.

ARMENIAN GENERAL STAFF HEAD SEES NO CHANGES IN RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
16.05.2006 18:31 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ First Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, Head of
General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Mikayel Harutyunyan
considers linking domestic situation in Armenia with Russian-Armenian
relations inadmissible. “I do not see any changes in Russian-Armenian
relations. Both the President and the Defense Minister constantly
repeat that we were and we will be strategic partners,” Harutyunyan
said. He added that accession to the NATO is not on Armenia’s agenda
today.
“We are a CSTO member, and a state cannot be member of two military
organizations simultaneously,” he emphasized. “I believe that in the
prospect we will be in the CSTO, which is part of our state security,”
the General Staff Head said. Armenia want to have normal relations
with other countries. “I mean states of the European Union, which are
NATO members,” Harutyunyan underscored. “Our relations with the NATO
advance normally and we have an Individual Partnership Action Plan,”
he added, reports Novosti-Armenia.