THE RUSSIAN MILITARY LEAVE GEORGIA IN AN ENGLISH WAY
by Vladimir Novikov, Andrei Ivanov
Source: Kommersant, May 4, 2006, p. 10
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Military hardware was withdrawn from Akhalkalaki at night
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY WITHDREW MILITARY HARDWARE FROM THE AKHALKALAKI
BASE (GEORGIA); Nongovernmental organizations stated that they will
not give up attempts to prevent the withdrawal of the Russian base
from Akhalkalaki.
The Russian military and the Georgian authorities prepared for
the withdrawal of military hardware from the 62nd military base in
Akhalkalaki as a military operation. Local residents held actions
of protest against the withdrawal of the Russian military base last
week. The protesters stated that many locals will lose jobs. The
leaders of the Virk movement fear that the threat of the Turkish
expansion will increase after the withdrawal of the base.
Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili reproached the Russian
special services of plotting provocations aimed at hindering the
withdrawal of the bases. Major-General Andrei Popov called these
accusations unfounded. He stated that Russia is prepared to withdraw
part of military hardware until May 15.
The Georgian Interior Ministry sent the Task Force to Akhalkalaki
on Wednesday night. Policemen had to stop people who could try
to blockade the base. However, only a dozen of people protested
against the withdrawal. It turned out that the military hardware
left the base on May 3. The protesters stopped their action when they
learnt this. Organizers of the picket stated that it’s inadmissible
to organize such actions when the Armenian people grieve over the
crash of a jetliner over the Black Sea. Nevertheless, nongovernmental
organizations stated that they will not give up attempts to prevent
the withdrawal of the Russian base.

ART OF LIVING TOGETHER
By Neal Keeling
Manchester Evening News, UK
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
ASYLUM seekers are being shown in a different light in an art
exhibition.
Works on show at Salford Museum and Art Gallery focus on the
experiences of foreigners trying to make new homes in the city.
They include striking portraits of men from Kosovo photographed by
Johnny Mobasher.
Johnny said: “They showed up all dressed up. Having your picture
taken is a bigger deal in their country than here.
“I thought they would be in the day-to-day clothes that they go to
language or cooking classes in.
“People have an existing image of asylum seekers and refugees. But
these are intelligent, family men, who find themselves in a different
country. Not all refugees look like they have crawled under barbed
wire across a border.”
As well as having their pictures taken, the men contributed to the
exhibition by taking 50 photographs themselves with a disposable
camera to capture snapshots of their lives in Salford.
There are currently 1,214 asylum seekers and refugees living in
Salford. They include Congolese, Kosovan Albanians, Iraqis, others
from the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Iran and Afghanistan.
There have been several high profile attacks on them. Last year a
Kurdish man was left with a broken leg by a gang of racist thugs.
And a Latvian man was lucky to survive when a screwdriver was plunged
into his head after 20 youths surrounded him.
Yet the city has historically been a destination for immigrants,
starting with Flemish weavers in the 14th century, Armenian merchants,
as well as Greek, Christians, and Jewish people.
One exhibit features 52 birds made by Salford artist Isobel Pickup and
Iranian artist Maryam Patala, from luggage and bags. They represent
the 52 languages spoken in the city.
Emma Summers has created 21 ceramics, referring to the fact that
every 21 seconds there is a new refugee around the world.
Coronation Street and Shameless actor Chris Bisson was at opening
launch of the exhibition yesterday. He said: “What strikes me about the
exhibition is that people from Salford – of all ages and different
cultural backgrounds have been involved in creating sculptures,
paintings, films, and photos.
“It has brought the entire community together – sharing their
experiences including sad and happy stories and exploring issues such
as uncertainty, fear, hope and trauma.”
The exhibition, called What Would You Do If, is open to the public
until November 19.
[email protected]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TABLEAU
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Field reports from Den Security Service agents
Source: Zavtra, No. 18, May 3, 2006, p. 1
Agency WPS
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Iran can produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently; The
International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran, sent to the UN
Security Council by IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, does not contain
proof that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at building a nuclear
bomb. But it does confirm that Iran’s current technological level
enables it to produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently.
The International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran, sent to the UN
Security Council by IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, does not contain
proof that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at building a nuclear
bomb. But it does confirm that Iran’s current technological level
enables it to produce fuel for nuclear power stations independently,
according to our sources in New York.
The meeting of new German Chancellor Angela Merkel with President
Putin in Tomsk confirmed that despite the defeat of Gerhard Schroeder
interests of the large German business regarding conquering of the
Russian space did not change. Inside sources state that until the end
of 2007 large stakes (possibly blocking ones) of Gazprom and Russian
Railways will be in the hands of the leading corporations of Germany.
Beginning of construction of the oil pipeline to Daqing that
practically coincided with this visit also was a long-awaited curtsey
of the Kremlin to Beijing.
The visit of President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev to Moscow
and mass unrest of Kyrgyz opposition including the pro-American one
demonstrate the slow but decisive ousting of the US from the Central
Asian region by the authorities of Beijing. The key issue is the
functioning of the American air base in Gansi that ensures not only
the necessary connection in the systems of control over the airspace
of the region but also uninterrupted drug traffic from Afghanistan,
report sources in Tashkent.
Signing of an agreement of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia on establishment
of the Bolivarian Initiative of Americas in Havana was organized
under unofficial aegis of China and became an “asymmetric response”
to the “pressure on the verge of foul” on the part of the US to
which Hu Jintao was exposed during his visit, reported sources in
Philadelphia. It was also possible that this loud action that deals a
serious blow on the prestige of Bush was coordinated with Saudi Arabia
and other leading countries of the Islamic world and Peru would become
the next candidate for joining to the Bolivarian Initiative. Candidate
from the leftist forces Olianta Umala has serious chances for victory
in Peru.
New technological difficulties in functioning of the oil pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (due to increased density the oil mixture is
pumped badly in mountainous conditions), report sources in Yerevan,
may become a pretext for large-scale provocations against Armenia on
which Baku and Ankara are prepared to lay responsibility for possible
explosions at the pipeline and a new aggravation of the situation
in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to our sources in Kiev, rumors about the upcoming
establishment of an “orange-blue” governmental coalition in Ukraine
are evidently exaggerated. A kind of turmoil is currently underway
in the “triangle of parties” that have won the elections and it will
most likely last until the beginning of June. Information weapons
are the main weapons in this “duel of nerves.” Now these weapons
are eagerly used both against the Kremlin system of Gazprom-Rosneft
(British scandals) and against the “team of Yushchenko” (disclosure
of Ukrainian beneficiaries of RosUkrEnergo). Thus, is Washington
pointing unambiguously once again at the need to form a “greater
orange coalition,” even with Yulia Timoshenko as prime minister,
because it considers the “queen of Independence Square” to be quite
manageable due to the compromising materials received from imprisoned
former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko.
Celebration of the “centennial anniversary of Russian parliamentarism”
in St. Petersburg looked a more than doubtful action both from the
historic and from the political points of view, especially given that
the overwhelming majority of Russian citizens disapprove of the Duma’s
performance. According to various polling agencies, about one-third
of respondents consider the Duma necessary and just over a quarter
of respondents trust it. Along with this, our experts note that
“the zero countdown point” was indicated clearly: 1906, which sets
constitutional monarchy as a political model desirable for the Kremlin.
The first “foreign visit” of Alexander Lukashenko after inauguration
to St. Petersburg was dedicated primarily by resolving of the
“gas problem” because a threefold increase of prices of Russian gas
actually “meant a soft economic blockade of Belarus on the side of
Russia.” The negotiations resulted in a promise of Putin “to consider
the forms of compensation” in exchange for a number of economic and
political preferences on the part of Minsk, reported sources in the
near-governmental circles.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE AUTHORITIES AND ETHNIC MINORITIES: EXACERBATION IN SPRING
Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
“It’s hard to tell what is going on: neo-fascism run rampant, or
a full-scale campaign to eradicate it,” said [Newsweek Russia in
early May.
Throughout April, there were regular media reports of crimes being
committed against “aliens.” St. Petersburg took priority, confirming
its notoriety as the capital of Russian neo-fascism. Liana Sisoko,
a half-black nine-year-old girl, stabbed 11 times in the hallway
of her apartment building; Lamsar Samba from Senegal, shot dead;
Desire Da Leko from the Ivory Coast, attacked – that is by no means
a complete list of neo-Nazi victims in St. Petersburg.
“The cleansing of St. Petersburg continues,” said the Freedom Party’s
website after another “feat” by its fighters from the White Patrol
movement. They stabbed two guest-worker women: Ilfuza Babayeva from
Azerbaijan and Ainur Bulekbayeva from Kazakhstan.
The security and law enforcement seem to have become more active as
well, says [Newsweek Russia]: “Whole groups of neo-Nazis are being
arrested, and some of them are even getting prison sentences.”
According to official reports, 13 extremists have been convicted in
Russia since the start of this year (the same period of 2005 produced
four convictions). But a Prosecutor General’s Office source told
[Newsweek Russia] that this doesn’t offer any grounds for optimism:
“It’s a temporary phenomenon. They’re only going after the obvious
targets, those who have drawn police attention to themselves. There’s
no question of any systematic anti-xenophobia efforts – it’s just
another campaign.”
Indeed, says [Newsweek Russia], the number of convictions is growing –
but the sentences are becoming lighter. And this change has happened
in recent months. Only 57 people were convicted of inciting ethnic
hatred in 2005, and only two of them (minors) received suspended
sentences. But when six members of the St. Petersburg neo-Nazi group
Schultz-88 were tried in December for assaulting a man from Azerbaijan,
the court only sent one of them to jail: group leader Dmitri Bobrov,
sentenced to six years. The other gang members went free, with short
suspended sentences. Several months later, a jury found that the
people who killed Tajik girl Khursheda Sultonova were only guilty
of hooliganism.
Moscow has also shown what it is capable of: its subway system,
promoted as “the safest in the world,” was the scene of an attack
in April. Vagen Abramiants, a 17-year-old Armenian Moscow resident,
was stabbed to death.
[Novye Izvestia] reports that witnesses of this murder first said it
was an ethnically-motivated attack, and described the attackers as
typical skinheads: shaved heads, short black jackets, boots. Then
another theory emerged: a fight over a girl. But the only suspect
– Denis Kulagin, a senior student from School No. 674 in Moscow –
retracted his initial evidence and was released unconditionally,
while investigators returned to the hate crime theory.
That same day, the media reported another attack in Moscow on people
of non-Slavic appearance. Some unidentified individuals armed with
knives attacked two 25-year-old Tajiks near the Cherkizovsky market.
One of the Tajiks, stabbed 17 times, died there; the other was
hospitalized. According to [Novye Izvestia], the Prosecutor’s Office
“isn’t inclined to link this incident to ethnic issues.”
[Novye Izvestia] says that neither prosecutors nor rank-and-file
police officers want a conflict with Moscow police chief Vladimir
Pronin, who said recently: “The skinhead websites are outraged:
why does Pronin still refuse to recognize our existence? But I don’t
recognize them. We don’t have any such organization. They’re nothing
more than petty thugs from Moscow and the Moscow region who target
people because of the color of their skins and try to attack them.”
“We have developed a strange tradition,” says Maksim Sokolov in
[Izvestia], “whereby reclassifying a crime as hooliganism is regarded
as condescension, and quite often actually is.”
But according to the Criminal Code, murder motivated by hooliganism
is still aggravated murder (Article 105.2i), and the penalty for it is
no less severe than for ethnically-motivated murder (Article 105.2l):
up to and including capital punishment, although there’s a moratorium
on that.
The “only” difference is the murder motive, says Sokolov: “Specific
proof of ethnic hatred is required, but no one can really know what
another person is thinking. Hooliganism is much easier to prove,
since unmotivated aggression is the distinct qualifying sign.”
Indeed, “if a crime is not prompted by greed or a personal grudge –
that is, if there are no rational motives for the crime – only one
motive remains: obvious disrespect for society as such, the desire
to destroy for destruction’s sake, right up to unmotivated murder.”
Those are the “hooliganism motives” of which common-sense opinion
takes such a condescending view.
However, says Sokolov, from a legal standpoint there shouldn’t
be any grounds for condescension here: “Unmotivated aggression
is much more dangerous than motivated aggression. The latter is
somewhat predictable, at least, so some protective measures can be
taken – but the former is completely unpredictable. In other words,
‘hooliganism motives’ describes the behavior of a rabid animal,”
and the response to such acts should be appropriate.
Nevertheless, says the [Vedomosti] newspaper, Russian legal practice
still treats “ethnic hatred motives” as an aggravating factor in
any crime.
On the other hand, the police find it advantagous to conceal racist
factors in any case: because “ethnically-motivated assault,” for
example, “isn’t just a common brawl, but a serious crime that threatens
the Constitution’s provision of equal rights for all citizens. In
other words, it’s a clear sign of failure for the police.”
Meanwhile, human rights organizations maintain that the killings are
the work of young skinheads, led by more experienced people. Antuan
Arakelian, an analyst with the Strategy Center, describes the murder
of Senegalese student Lamsar Samba as “an object lesson.”
Arakelian told [Novye Izvestia]: “There has been a series of
these demonstrative crimes in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They are
synchronized to some degree, indicating skilful management. The
skinheads are just the tools – and certain groups connected with
official structures are very good at using such tools.”
In Arakelian’s opinion, the climate of fear in society is being created
deliberately: “Russia is witnessing a purposeful campaign to tighten
the screws regarding legislation and its enforcement in the areas of
civil rights and liberties, non-governmental organizations, migrants,
and the Internet. There seems to be an effort to persuade the public
that a hardline approach to all these phenomena is required.”
The increase in ethnic hate crimes has intensified the public debate,
says [Vedomosti]: “Some are scaring ordinary citizens with the
prospect of neo-fascism, while others see a political game in all
this. One thing is clear: the state has all the leverage it needs to
fight crimes of this nature, but those abilities are not being used.”
[Ekspert] magazine takes a similar view: “Ethnically-motivated street
violence – that’s the most conspicuous and the most-discussed aspect
of xenophobia.” However, that is only the most obvious and scandalous
side of the situation, and it could be brought under control quite
quickly, given the political will to do so.
Boris Strugatsky, a prominent writer, says in an interview with
[Novaya Gazeta] that “yet another upswing in violent neo-Nazism is
taking place, and our leaders are either unable or – scary thought –
unwilling to take action against it.”
Of course, “all kinds of political forces” are seeking to take
advantage of the situation for their own purposes.
The situation “looks like an emergency,” says Strugatsky: “Unless
the authorities – at the very top, the presidential level – show some
political will, bloodshed and abominable events await us.”
Strugatsky went on to say: “I don’t rule out the possibility that
‘anti-fascist detachments’ might be established. And then we would
see a repeat of what happened in Germany in the early 1930s: a war
between ‘brown’ and ‘red’ storm-troopers. We remember where that led.
Or have we already forgotten?”
In [Literaturnaya Gazeta], historian Valery Solovei says that contrary
to the assertions of the authorities, “the situation in Russia isn’t
as good or stable as we are led to believe.” Solovei even reports that
“one of the Kremlin’s most well-known political strategists” is known
to “start repeating hysterically that Russia is heading for disaster”
whenever he has too much to drink in the company of friends.
Solovei participated in a [Literaturnaya Gazeta] debate on nationalist
issues in Russia and media coverage of them. In his opinion, Russia
“isn’t experiencing waves of public outrage yet, but the authorities
are seeking to prepare for them in advance by perfecting a system
for harsh suppression of mass protests.” Under the circumstances,
it can be “advantageous” for the authorities to “wave the bugaboo of
‘fascism’ – since ‘fascism’ provides excellent ideological cover for
the very toughest measures.”
And [Ekspert] magazine notes that “fascism-fighting month” on national
television networks in April “seems all the more ambiguous, given
that television broadcasting itself and Russia’s political class have
shown an increasing tolerance for xenophobic propaganda of late.”
[Ekspert] maintains that the “media tsunamis” on this issue “sometimes
resemble a game that’s convenient for everyone involved.”
[Ekspert] says: “In effect, the nationalists get access to television
airtime – if not directly, then via detailed coverage of their
activities. The authorities demonstrate that they’re concerned about
the problem. The opposition gets another opportunity to criticize
the authorities.”
Television networks themselves have an interest in this issue:
according to the laws of the genre, “news programs need at least a
dash of intrigue or suspense, but the political mainstream isn’t very
lively.” So the problem is solved by giving airtime to nationalists:
“since many of them refrain from saying anything too appalling, and
they don’t mention the issues that the Kremlin really dislikes: freedom
of speech, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and so on.” From this standpoint,
says [Ekspert], the television networks actually prefer Alexander
Prokhanov to Boris Nemtsov, for example.
“Whom do the authorities see as the true enemy: the political
opposition, or neo-fascism?” When [Novaya Gazeta] put this question
to Boris Strugatsky, he replied: “For the authorities, the enemy
is anyone who aspires to power – regardless of their ideological
convictions or preferences.”
However, Strugatsky says that the neo-Nazis are the most dangerous
from that standpoint: “They are better-organized ideologically and
have more support among the masses, who are inclined to xenophobia
and authoritarianism.”
Strugatsky says: “The neo-Nazis are the leading claimants to political
power. We can only hope that the authorities understand this.”
Analyst Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Sova Center, tells
[Ekspert] that Russia’s nationalists have turned out to be quick
learners. They have fully “mastered the political techniques used
by extreme right-wing groups in Europe, known for their ability
to use propaganda that skirts the boundaries of what is legally
permissible.” From the legal standpoint, there’s nothing actionable
in the statements made by Russian neo-Nazi leaders.
Then again, says [Ekspert], there might not be so much demand for
the issue of nationalism if public politics in Russia “wasn’t so
sterile.” When television broadcasts fail to discuss “many truly
important issues,” we inevitably see “phantom issues” – such as
those raised by the Movement Against Illegal Immigration, which
has managed to “adapt socially-acceptable political language for
xenophobic propaganda.”
These propaganda efforts haven’t been wasted.
The [Vedomosti] newspaper says: “Russia has had, and continues to
have, a favorable political and psychological climate for developing
xenophobic attitudes. Two wars in Chechnya fostered xenophobia among
Russia’s leaders – with the call to ‘wipe them out in the toilets’
being directed at bandits of a specific ethnic group.” Subsequently,
the war on international terrorism has only intensified Islamophobia.
These days, “patriotic” rhetoric at the federal level becomes actual
use of skinhead groups at the regional level: “They have been used
in several regional election campaigns, or even in business conflicts.”
What’s more, the [Kommersant] newspaper reports that during the
May Day holidays in Moscow, young nationalists from the Russian
All-National Union (RONS), with the support of Russian Orthodox
pensioner organizations, made a number of attacks on members of
sexual minorities.
RONS activists disrupted gay events at two Moscow night-clubs. Gay
rights groups have accused the Russian Orthodox Church and the federal
authorities of turning a blind eye to the activities of the RONS,
saying that the authorities are out to “score points in the lead-up
to elections.”
[Kommersant] notes: “Curiously enough, until now the radical
nationalist organizations had confined themselves to the ‘Russia for
Russians’ slogan and taken action against ‘aliens,’ mostly. But now,
according to the RONS, it’s the gays’ turn.”
RONS spokesman Miron Kravchenko described the purpose of the campaign
as follows: “We have to put a stop to promotion of this unnatural
way of life. They (gays) have to think about their behavior.”
Although the RONS claims to be motivated by religious beliefs,
the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has found it
necessary to emphasize that it has nothing to do with these actions.
Ed Mishin, a leader of Russia’s gay rights movement and
editor, says that the police only made a show of dispersing the
anti-gay activists. Mishin says: “The authorities are still aiming to
suppress dissent: it used to be the Jews, and now it’s us.” All the
same, he maintains that the authorities “will let these nationalists do
as they please for the next six to twelve months, and then start taking
measures against them – scoring points for the next parliamentary
and presidential elections.”
This view is also held by Stanislav Belkovsky, president of
the National Strategy Institute, who told [Kommersant] that “the
authorities are the catalyst for such incidents.” Although “Russia
doesn’t have a substantial skinhead movement – only groups of youths
who gather for specific events,” the authorities aim to use such
incidents as proof that “fascists could take power tomorrow,” and
“citizens need to be shown that the present authorities are the
lesser evil.”
However, Boris Strugatsky says that it isn’t the worst-case scenario
for the authorities to take this attitude to neo-Nazis: “The real
worst-case scenario would be if Nazis (in one form or another)
actually came to power.”
Then again, Strugatsky considers this unlikely: “That place is
taken, and no one’s planning to give it up to anyone, including
the neo-Nazis.”
All the same, when this interview (done shortly before Victory Day)
asked him why the fascism-immunity our country acquired in 1941-45
has turned out to be so weak, Strugatsky replied that our country has
never developed immunity to fascism as such. What it had was hatred
of German fascism: “All those visuals of SS officers, death camps,
murdered civilians, our country’s devastations, the millions who
never came back from the war – all this, taken together, was called
‘the brutal face of German fascism.'” But in the Russian mindset,
all this coexisted easily with “our innate xenophobia, our approval
of strong-man rule and harsh measures, the notorious concept of
‘order,’ and the other attributes of common Nazism – nothing other
than dictatorship of the nationalists.”
These days, opinion polls indicate that xenophobic attitudes are on
the rise: over 50% of respondents approve of the “Russia for Russians”
slogan to some extent. [Ekspert] magazine reports that “over half
of respondents dislike Chechens and Roma; these figures reach 60-70%
among respondents under 25.”
[Novoe Vremya] magazine maintains that xenophobia is “a consequence
of the lawlessness that has come to dominate Russia.”
According to [Novoe Vremya], the prolonged period of Communist rule
produced a “special kind of morality” and a “special, communal type
of person” to go with it: “When those in power can steal openly and
kill with impunity, theft and murder cease to be sins. Everything is
permitted – as long as ‘they’ remain untouched.”
[Novoe Vremya] quotes the radical Petr Yakovlevich Chaadaev from almost
two centuries ago: “In the face of our misfortunes, I believe it is
permissible to refrain from sharing the ambitions of the unbridled
patriotism that has brought our country to the brink of destruction and
now thinks to rescue the country by persisting in its own illusions,
unwilling to acknowledge the desperate situation those illusions
have created.”
The 19th Century writer’s thoughts are echoed by Boris Strugatsky:
“As long as xenophobia and approval of dictatorship exist in Russia,
neo-Nazism will remain a first-degree looming threat.”
These statements appear to be two sides of the same coin.

CHELTENHAM MAYOR TELLS OF AIR CRASH SYMPATHIES
Gloucestershire Echo, UK
May 9, 2006 Tuesday
Cheltenham mayor Brian Chaplin has offered his sympathies to families
of the victims of the air crash at Sochi in Russia.
Sochi has been one of Cheltenham’s twin towns since 1959.
On Wednesday, an Airbus A-320 of the Armenian airline Armavia plunged
into the Black Sea as it tried to land.
The accident claimed the lives of 113 people.
Coun Chaplin said: “It’s a concern to anyone with any compassion such
as with any tragedy like this anywhere in the world.
“It hasn’t directly affected the people of Sochi but is still
a tragedy.”
Trips to Sochi for Cheltenham residents have been organised for June
17 to 27 and the end of September.

BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS ARMENIA GENOCIDE BILL
Agence France Presse — English
May 10, 2006 Wednesday 6:57 PM GMT
Bulgaria’s parliament rejected Wednesday a resolution from an
ultra-nationalist party calling on it to recognise as genocide
massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire.
Of the 170 deputies present in the 240-seat parliament, 81 voted
against, 56 supported it and there were 33 abstentions.
The nationalist Ataka (Attack) party had called for parliament to
declare May 24 “a day of remembrance for the victims of Armenian
genocide under the Ottoman Empire”.
But the ruling Socialist-led coalition rejected the proposal, with
left-wing deputies saying it was only aimed at straining ties with
Turkey and relations within the three-party government, which includes
a Turkish minority party.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered between
1915 and 1917, as the Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey’s predecessor,
was falling apart but Turkey categorically rejects the claims.

TURKEY BOYCOTTS JOINT MILITARY TRAINING IN CANADA
Agence France Presse — English
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Turkey has withdrawn from an upcoming military training exercise in
Canada, according Canadian officials, as a diplomatic row brews over
Canada’s characterization of massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire, as genocide.
“Turkey has advised the organizers of exercise Maple Flag on Friday
that they would not be participating in this year’s exercise,”
a spokeswoman for Canada’s defence department told AFP.
“Turkey is an important NATO ally and we hope they will participate
in future exercises,” she said.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported Wednesday the boycott was in
protest of Canada’s view. Turkish officials in Ottawa could not be
reached for comment.
Earlier, Turkey said it temporarily recalled its ambassador in Canada
for consultations over the disagreement.
Turkey was angered when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
referred to the “Armenian genocide” as fact in a statement praising
commemorations of the 91st anniversary of the killings on April 24.
The foreign ministry said at the time that Harper’s words were
“appalling” and would “negatively affect” bilateral ties.
In 2002, the Canadian Senate recognised the massacres as the first
genocide of the 20th century and the House of Commons followed suit
two years later.
Armenians claim that as many as 1.5 million of their kin were
slaughtered in orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917, as the
Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey’s predecessor, was falling apart.
Turkey categorically rejects the claims, saying 300,000 Armenians and
at least as many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian
troops invading Ottoman soil.
Operation Maple Flag involves some 40 fighter aircraft flown by pilots
from nine countries, including France, Britain, the United States,
New Zealand and Singapore.

TURKEY URGES FRANCE TO BLOCK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
Agence France Presse — English
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called
on France to block a French parliamentary bill that would make it a
punishable offence to deny that the World War I massacres of Armenians
were genocide, and warned that such a move would hurt bilateral ties.
“Ties between Turkey and France are not ordinary relations. They go
back to the 19th century and French firms currently rank first among
companies investing in Turkey,” Erdogan told reporters here.
“I believe the French parliament will probably not insert the so-called
Armenian genocide like a virus between two countries that have such
important ties. I believe common sense will prevail,” he added.
Erdogan was speaking before his departure to Vienna to attend the
EU-Latin American (EU-LAC) summit on Thursday, where he said he
expected to meet French leaders to discuss the issue.
Turkey, which categorically denies the Armenians were the victims of a
genocide, is warily watching the developments in the French National
Assembly and announced Monday that it had called back its ambassador
to Paris for consultations.
If approved, the bill would provide for one year in prison and a
45,000-euro (57,000-dollar) fine for any person who denies that the
1915-1917 massacres of Armenians were genocide.
The bill, which follows a 2001 French law officially recognising the
massacres as genocide, was proposed by members of the opposition
Socialist Party (PS) and will have its first reading before the
Assembly on May 18.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917, as the Ottoman Empire,
modern Turkey’s predecessor, was falling apart.
Turkey rejects the claims, saying 300,000 Armenians and at least
as many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took up arms
for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops
invading Ottoman soil.

RELATIVES BURY URNS IN MEMORY OF MISSING ARMENIAN CRASH VICTIMS
Agence France Presse — English
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
Relatives have begun symbolically burying urns with Black Sea water
and sand in memory of missing victims of an Armenian plane crash last
week whose bodies have not been recovered.
“It is very important for Armenians to have a burial place after
death,” said a relative of Armenia’s former interior minister Khusik
Arutiunian, one of the victims when the passenger aircraft plunged
into the Black Sea on May 3.
“We bury an urn with sand and thus have we have a place to reflect,
sorrow and light candles.”
Further funeral masses were celebrated Wednesday in memory of all
113 passengers and crew who died when an Airbus A320 operated by the
Armenian airline Armavia plunged into the sea as it tried to land at
Sochi in bad weather on a flight from Yerevan.
Some 1,500 mourners lit candles at the Church of Saint Gregory at
Yerevan, capital of the Caucasian republic.
Of the 51 victims recovered, 47 had been identified, said the Russian
emergencies ministry.
French specialists were helping Armenian and Russian authorities in
their search for plane fragments and the flight recorder, known as
the black box.

‘ASSASSIN’ SAYS GREEN TOO MEAN FOR MUNDINE
By Grantlee Kieza
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
May 10, 2006 Wednesday
State Edition
VIC Darchinyan and Danny Green shared a house just after the Sydney
Olympics, iron sharpening iron as the two out-of-towners eyed pro
careers.
Each day the Armenian assassin and the Perth puncher would run an 8km
circuit near their bachelor pad in Bankstown and the way Darchinyan
tells it, even in the last kilometre Green would chase down other
joggers the way he ran over his first 16 pro opponents by KO.
“Danny never gives up,” said Darchinyan, who leaves for Las Vegas
today to defend his world flyweight title against an undefeated
Mexican before 20,000 fans in Las Vegas on June 4.
“This is why he will beat Anthony Mundine. Anthony is a good fighter,
strong, very fast, good movement, but Danny is mentally stronger
and tougher. He is a real fighter who will do anything to win. [If]
you hit him, it only makes him fight harder.”
The Man faces The Machine next Wednesday at Aussie Stadium in a
WBA super-middleweight title eliminator and Darchinyan and trainer
Jeff Fenech will be keeping tabs on the fight from their training
bases in Phoenix and Los Angeles, where Darchinyan will spar world
super-bantamweight champ Israel Vasquez.
Fenech says he has no ill feelings toward Green despite their
bitter split last year and believes his former protege’s tenacity
and toughness will keep Mundine on the back foot and out of the
victory equation.
Darchinyan, a 30-year-old southpaw slugger, defends his IBF flyweight
title against undefeated 28-year-old Mexican Luis Maldonado, who has
33 wins and a draw, 25 wins by knockout.
* NEVADA boxing regulators yesterday revoked Zab Judah’s licence and
fined him $326,000, the harshest penalty yet for a melee which broke
out at last month’s welterweight title fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Judah was punished for landing a punch to the back of Mayweather’s
head in the April 8 IBF title bout and for joining the fracas that
ensued when Mayweather’s trainer and uncle, Roger Mayweather, burst
into the ring.
The Nevada Athletic Commission also revoked the licence of Judah’s
father and trainer, Yoel Judah, and fined him $130,000 for being the
second person to rush into the ring and for punching Roger Mayweather.