AIRLINER CRASHES OFF RUSSIA: REPORTS
Reuters
Tuesday, May 2, 2006; 9:07 PM
MOSCOW (Reuters) – An Armenian Airlines aircraft carrying about 100
people on a flight from Yerevan to the Russian seaside resort of Sochi
has crashed into the Black Sea, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
RIA news agency said the emergencies ministry had sent an amphibious
plane to the scene of the crash, and that fragments of the plane were
visible on the surface of the sea.
Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov was quoted as saying the plane was
an Airbus 320 and had vanished from radar screens at 2.15 am (6:15
p.m. EDT Tuesday) near Sochi, a Russian resort near the Georgian
border.
He said the plane was carrying at least five children, and that
difficult weather conditions were complicating the search for
survivors.

PLANE CRASHES IN RUSSIA WITH 100 ABOARD
AP
Wednesday May 3, 2006 2:46 AM
MOSCOW (AP) – An Armenian passenger jet with 100 people aboard crashed
early Wednesday off the Black Sea coast shortly before it was to land
in the Russian city of Sochi, Russian news agencies reported.
Wreckage from the plane was found not far from the shoreline, the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting Russian Emergency Situations
spokesman Viktor Beltsov. The Interfax news agency reported that
rescue teams at the site pulled the body of a woman from the sea.
The Airbus A-320, which belonged to the Armenian airline Armavia,
disappeared from radar screens at about 2:15 a.m. local time, the
RIA-Novosti agency reported. It was flying from the Armenian capital
Yerevan to Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea in southern Russia,
and was carrying 92 passengers – including five children – and eight
crew members, ITAR-Tass reported.
Rescuers found parts of the plane nearly four miles from the shore,
along with empty lifejackets – an indication that passengers had no
time to put them on, ITAR-Tass quoted an unidentified local emergency
official as saying. The rescuers were working in a driving rain,
Russian news agencies reported.

KYRGYZSTAN GOING TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA IN DIFFERENT FIELDS
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2006 23:09 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today newly appointed Kyrgyz Ambassador to Armenia
Apas Jumangulov (residence in Moscow) presented copies of credentials
to the Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian, reports the Press Service of
the Armenian MFA. During the meeting the parties expressed content
over the current state of Armenian-Kyrgyz relations and mentioned
the impending work for strengthening ties. Implementation of joint
programs in specific fields can promote that goal. The Ambassador
emphasized Kyrgyzstan is going to advance cooperation between the two
countries in different fields. The interlocutors also discussed the
matter of strengthening cooperation within international organizations.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORUM IN YEREVAN TO MARK 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S ACCESSION TO CE
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2006 23:31 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Achievements in building pluralistic democracy
based on respect for human rights and rule of law during Armenia’s
five year membership in the Council of Europe will be the main theme
of the “Armenia and the Council of Europe: Five Years of Membership”
conference, which will take place on Friday, 5 May 2006. According to
the information provided to PanARMENIAN.Net, the conference intends to
bring together national policy makers, RA National Assembly deputies,
civil society and media as well as representatives of international
community to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Armenia’s membership in
the Organization and exchange views on future cooperation between the
Council of Europe and Armenia. The conference will be concluded by a
panel discussion entitled “The Many Facets of Cooperation: Armenia’s
Contribution to Building European Standards” with participation of
Armenian professionals engaged in the Council of Europe activities
regarding Armenia.
We note that Armenia became a Council of Europe on 25January 2001.

KOCHARIAN: COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND KYRGYZSTAN SHOULD BE DEVELOPED
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.05.2006 00:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today newly appointed Kyrgyz Ambassador to Armenia
Apas Jumangulov (residence in Moscow) presented credentials to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, reports the Press Service of the Armenian
leader. During the meeting Kocharian indicated the need to renew ties
between the two countries and enhance the level of information about
each other. At that he added that thus all cooperation opportunities
will be used to the full. In his turn the Kyrgyz Ambassador underscored
the availability of good preconditions for strengthening ties,
noting active involvement of the Armenian community of Kyrgyzstan
in the state system and industries among them. Besides, the parties
discussed the process of political and economic reforms in Kyrgyzstan.

MSNBC HAS STARTED A NEW SURVEY ON THE PBS PANEL ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Panorama.am
18:39 27/04/06
The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) has sent e-mails
to thousands of Turks asking them to vote FOR the panel. As of now,
55% of the voters have voted for the panel.
Please click on the link and Vote NO to preserve the memory of the
genocide.

GEORGIA, RUSSIA, ARMENIA AND ABKHAZIA TO DISCUSS RESTORATION OF ABKHAZ RAILWAY
PanARMENIAN.Net
03.05.2006 00:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Director General of Georgian Railways Public
Corporation Irakly Ezugbaya will take part in the meeting of the
quadripartite commission (Georgia, Russia, Armenia and Abkhazia)
on restoration of the Abkhaz part of the Tbilisi-Sochi railway.
“During the session of the commission in Moscow May 3-4 creation of
a consortium with participation of all four sides of the project will
take place,” Spokeswoman of the Director General of Georgian Railways
Public Corporation Tamara Machavariani said.
In her words, according to preliminary data, the project cost
fluctuates between $200 and $250 million, while the share participation
of the consortium members is still subject to discussion, reports
Novosti Gruzia.
We note that rail communication between Georgia and Russia through
Abkhazia was stopped right after the Georgian-Abkhaz armed conflict
commenced in 1992-1993.

THEY SILENCE JOURNALISTS WITHOUT KILLING THEM
A1+
[05:39 pm] 02 May, 2006
“No one can suppress the truth for ever, but some people never stop
trying. It is journalists who pay the price” said Terry Davis on the
occasion of the 2006 World Press Freedom Day.
“Restrictions on freedom of expression are widespread, often violent
and sometimes lethal. In 2005 more than 150 journalists around the
world died carrying out their profession, and more than half of them
were murdered. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been deprived of their
freedom being either kidnapped or put in prison, and there are no
reliable statistics for those who have been threatened or persecuted.
As a rule, journalists in the 46 Council of Europe member states are
no longer tortured or killed, but that does not mean that they are
always free to do their work. The European Convention on Human Rights,
calling on public authorities to refrain from interfering with freedom
of expression, is frequently ignored. Some journalists may be silenced
through intimidation, others may be bought into compliance, but the
end result remains the same because democracy cannot properly function
without media which is genuinely free of governmental interference
and control.
A particularly insidious form of intimidation is the threat of
prosecution for libel. In fact, more than two thirds of the Council
of Europe member states maintain criminal sanctions for defamation,
and these laws are often used to stifle criticism. I call on all
Council of Europe member states to review their legislation, abolish
criminal provisions and prevent disproportionate damages in civil
cases against journalists. Progress in the protection of journalists
is the only credible way to mark the World Press Freedom Day. “

WE ENCOUNTER REGRESS, GENTLEMEN!
A1+
[07:35 pm] 02 May, 2006
“Democracy has developed asymmetrically within the recent 14 years
in Armenia since the proclamation of independence. Though Armenia was
the first country among the Soviet former republics to put an end to
communists’ power, the absence of the efficient system of checks and
balances, the centralization of the president’s liabilities and the
lack of independent civil service paved a way for a weak governing
system and spread corruption,” the 2005 review of “Freedom House”
organization begins with these words.
The organization deems the RA election procedure a serious obstacle
for democracy; “The public inconfidence to the election procedure was
determined by the high – rank officials’ failure to hold democratic
elections.” According to Ann Walker, the reporter of “Freedom House”
on Armenian issues, though the Constitution guarantees a number of
fundamental provisions for human rights protection, in fact there
are many obstacles hindering their efficient protection. “Judicial
system has little independence.”
While speaking of the corruption deeply rooted in the country, Ann
Walker first of all laid the stress on official corruption. “The
close ties of the political and economic elites and the absence of
efficient law implementation give ground for official corruption.”
The representatives of “Freedom House” maintain that the discord
between the Government and the Opposition will still strengthen at the
turn of the year; on the eve of 2007 elections. The organized attached
importance to the role of mass media in establishing democracy in
the country and mentioned that the Armenian media turned “from half
independent” to “half dependent” in the course of 2002 – 2003. “The
main free Armenian TV channel “A1+” was embattled in 2002 and was
unable to resume its frequency license. The members of the Commission
on television and radio are so far appointed by President Kocharyan.”
The representatives of “Freedom House” stated at the end of their
review that they held a thorough survey taking into consideration
their meetings with the Government, political figures, NGOs and
representatives of mass media. By the way, certain journalists inquired
about the results of the Armenian observation in comparison with the
Georgian and Azeri ones. As it turns out, there has been progress in
Georgia in connection with democracy, whereas the state of Azerbaijan
is worse than that of Armenia.
This is a real consolation for Armenia.

A JOINT STATEMENT PRESENTED TO THE GOVERNMENTS
A1+
[06:41 pm] 02 May, 2006
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the media freedom
watchdogs of four of the world’s leading international organizations
have issued a joint statement urging governments not to let violence
against media personnel go unpunished and commending the vital role
the press plays for democracy.
“We take this opportunity to call upon all governments to combat
impunity with regard to violence against journalists and media
personnel, by bringing to justice those responsible for attacks
against them, and by taking measures that enable journalists
and media personnel to continue providing information freely and
independently. All journalists detained on the grounds of their
media-related activities should be released immediately,” the
statement reads.
“It is a grave sorrow to remind ourselves that in the year 2005 the
world recorded the highest number of journalists and other media
professionals, killed or injured in the line of duty.”
“The media constitute the foundation of a democratic society where
individuals and groups are encouraged to exchange information and
express opinions freely.
Nourishing media diversity is essential for maintaining pluralism,”
the four reporters stressed.
The joint statement was signed by: the Special Reporters of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights on the promotion and protection of
the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Representative on
Freedom of the Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe, the Special Reporter for freedom of expression of the
Organization of American States and the Special Reporter on Freedom
of Expression of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.