SYRIA CONDOLES ARMENIA OVER PLANE CRASH
SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria
May 3 2006
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad sent on Wednesday a
cable of condolences to his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian
over crash of an Armenian airplane and the killing of all passengers.
” On behalf of the Syrian people and me I express to you and to the
Armenian friendly people my heartfelt condolences wishing God would
avert the friendly people of Armenian ay trouble,’ the President said
in his cable. An Armenian passenger plane crashed in stormy weather
Wednesday off Russia’s Black sea coast while readying to land,
killing all 113 people on board most of them Armenians.

MEDIATORS TO TABLE NEW GARABAGH PROPOSALS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 3 2006
Baku, May 2, AssA-Irada
The OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict started their talks in Moscow on
Tuesday. The course of peace talks and the date for the intermediaries’
next visit to the region is being considered.
The Minsk Group co-chairs from Russia, France and the United States,
who will further pay separate visits to the region, are expected to
discuss new proposals on the conflict resolution. The discussions
follow the latest unsuccessful round of talks between the two
countries’ leaders in Rambouillet, France in February.
“The Moscow meeting is underway behind closed doors and no
representatives of the two sides are represented in the talks.
Official Baku will be informed of the details of the meeting during
the co-chairs’ next visit to the region,” the Azeri Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tahir Taghizada said.
The OSCE chairman’s special envoy Andzhei Kaspshik is attending the
discussions, according to the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group Yuri Merzlyakov.

AZERI MP CRITICIZES MEDIATING OSCE GROUP
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 3 2006
Baku, May 2, AssA-Irada
An Azeri parliament member has questioned the credibility of the OSCE
Minsk Group (MG) brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
Shahlar Asgarov said there are ample grounds for this conclusion.
“Who can say that the MG co-chairs have put forth any goodwill
proposals so far?” he queried.
The MP said he had been closely following the activity of the group
and arrived at a conclusion that it was established not to facilitate,
but on the contrary, to impede the peace process.
“The co-chairing countries [Russia, France and the United States]
assist either party when its position weakens, which prolongs the
[Armenian] occupation. Our society should understand this clearly,”
Asgarov said.

ARMAVIA AIR COMPANY SETS UP COMMISSION FOR FINDING OUT CAUSES OF ITS AIRCRAFT CRASH NEAR SOCHI
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. Armavia Air Company is already set up a
commission for finding out causes of its aircraft crash near Sochi,
Russia. Armavia press service told ARKA News Agency that aircraft
A-320 with 913 on board plummeted into Black Sea Tuesday night while
en route from Yerevan to Sochi. It fell down when trying to land in
Adler airport.
Armavia’s official says the plane was denied landing because of bad
weather. The crew decided to land in Tbilisi, then they was told by
Adler airport flying control ground service that weather has already
improved. “The airplane headed to Sochi, but weather conditions there
remained bad. At the very moment of the second attempt to land,
the plane disappeared from radars screens”, the company’s press
service says.
Armavia spokesman said that the jet was in good technical condition.
Of 113 aboard 105 were passengers and 8 crew members. 6 children and
36 women were among the passengers.
Armenian Civil Aviation General Office set up a commission for
dealing with the accident. The commission made up of aviation and
flight security specialists has already flew to Sochi to take part
in the investigation launched by Russian side.
All the 113 on board are reportedly killed in the crash.
Sochi Prosecutor Office instigated a case into the accident on the
Russian Federation Penal Code count on violation of flight security
rules that resulted in human toll.
Armavia Air Company started functioning on December 12, 1996. Mikhail
Baghdasarov, MIKA Armenia Trading President, became the owner of 100%
shares of Armavia in June 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR MUST NOT BE PART OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIAN PM STATES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) must not
be part of Azerbaijan, RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated
in his interview put on the web-site of the RA Government.
According to him, the position of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement has not changed.
“In conformity with this position, Nagorno Karabakh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan. The security of the NKR population must be guaranteed,
Armenia and the NKR must have a common border, the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict must not be settled at the expense of Armenia’s borders,
and the NKR must act as negotiator in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
process,” Speaking of the latest meeting between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents in Rambouillet on February 10-11, Margaryan
pointed out that the talks did not fail.
“Just no agreement on a number of settlement principles were reached,”
he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAGHDASARYAN PROPOSES TO SET UP GROUP FOR INVESTIGATING CAUSES OF ARMENIAN JET CRASH
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan proposed to set up a group to investigate causes of
Armenian A320 jet crash near Russian resort of Sochi.
He offered each parliamentary fraction to put up its nominee for
inclusion in the group.
Along with that, Baghdasaryan said the intergovernmental commission is
already set up and Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan traveled
to the site and has already reached the destination.
“Armenian National Assembly thinks it must compose its own group for
supporting families of those killed in the crash”, Baghdasaryan said.
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan set dates for official mourning.
Armenian National Assembly canceled its today’s session because
the crash.
Armavia Armenian Air Company’s aircraft with 113 on board plummeted
in the Black Sea on a flight from Yerevan to Sochi. None of those
aboard the plane has reported survived.

ALL PASSENGERS OF ARMAVIA AIRLINE INSURED IN CONFORMITY WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
Yerevan, May 3. /ARKA/. All the passengers of the Armavia airline
were insured in conformity with international standards, the press
service of the airline reports.
The risks were re-insured at the international market. The amount
and order of payment of compensations will be determined after the
investigation, which is being conducted with the involvement of
independent experts appointed by the re-insurer companies.
The “Armavia” plans to report on the rules of compensation immediately
after the investigation.

TURKEY WARNS FRANCE NOT TO MAKE DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE A CRIMINAL ACT
Voice of America
May 3 2006
Turkey has warned France that ties between the two countries will
suffer what it called “irreparable damage” if French lawmakers
approve a measure making denial of the Armenian genocide 90 years
ago a criminal offense.
A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, told reporters in
Ankara his country’s views on the issue are being conveyed to French
officials. The proposed bill would provide fines and imprisonment for
denying that Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were victims of genocide
during World War One
If adopted, the bill would follow a 2001 French parliament decision
that the deaths of one and a half million Armenians amounted to
genocide.
That vote infuriated Turkey, which acknowledges the deaths of hundreds
of thousands of Armenians but insists that as many Turks also died
in civil strife and a Russian-backed Armenian uprising against
Ottoman rule.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

COMMUNIST PARTY OF ARMENIA PRESENTS ITS CONDOLENCES TO RELATIVES OF VICTIMS OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Central Committee of
the Communist Party of Armenia expresses its deep condolences to the
relatives of the victims of A-320 Yerevan-Sochi plane that crashed
on May 3. This was mentioned in the report provided to Noyan Tapan
from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia.

TURKISH COURT REJECTS JOURNALIST’S APPEAL
Nanaimo Daily News (British Columbia, Canada)
May 3, 2006 Wednesday
Final Edition
ANKARA — A Turkish court rejected an appeal by an ethnic Armenian
journalist against a conviction that found him guilty of insulting
Turkish national identity, in a case watched closely by the European
Union.
Hrant Dink, editor of the weekly Agos newspaper, in October received
a six-month suspended sentence from an Istanbul court for articles he
wrote in 2004 about the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
The appeals court in Ankara upheld the substance of the ruling Tuesday.
“I am deeply saddened by the decision,” Dink said. “We were expecting
the court to say that the accusations were baseless.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress