22 SETTLEMENTS WILL BE RENAMED
A1+
[12:42 pm] 20 June, 2006
NA affirmed the new names of 19 rural settlements in Syunik marz. The
issue of renaming these settlements was put on the agenda for a long
time. The above mentioned settlements got rid of the former foreign
names according to the law.
The change of the names of 19 settlements among 22 ones has
been affirmed so far. The question of three others is still
being discussed. These are the villages Aghbulagh, Musallam and
Okhtar. Three settlements of the marz are included in the list of
the rural communities in the framework of the law.
The settlement Verin Giratar is involved in Lernadzor community,
whereas Pirlu and Qyurut – in Geghi. The historical background
was taken into consideration while choosing the new names of the
settlements. The foreign names will be finally deleted from the map
of the region.
TV Company “Sosi,” Kapan

THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE SHIRAK RESIDENTS WILL BE PRESENTED IN A SEPARATE FESTIVAL
A1+
[12:45 pm] 20 June, 2006
The second festival-conference titled “Armenian Professional Art
and Festival” started in the Gyumri department of the Yerevan State
Conservatory.
The festival is aimed at refreshing memories and emphasizing
the importance of the cultural heritage of the Shirak and Gyumri
composers once more. The festival also has a theoretical part where
the musicians and artists are to present their scientific observations
and conclusions.
It gives the students a good opportunity to present their scientific
observations to the specialists’ evaluation.
TV Company “Tsayg,” Gyumri

PAPER WILLS WITH THE EXPECTATION OF STONE HOUSES
A1+
[03:25 pm] 20 June, 2006
Today is the World Refugee Day. According to the representatives
of the Yerevan department of “Cringo” Network more than 1.5 million
refugees and displaced people because of the conflicts existing in
the Caucasian region look forward to reliable and favorable solution
to their matter; either local integration or return to their homeland.
“Cringo” wants to put the issue of providing the above mentioned people
with houses on the agenda as a fundamental issue of human rights,”
pointed out Seyran Martirosyan, member of the coordinating council.
About 235 000 refugees settled in Armenia, 70 – 75 thousand adopted
Armenian citizenship and 60 – 70 thousand live abroad.
NGOs of “Cringo” Network will initiate a campaign all over the Caucasus
on June 12 – 20. Seyran Martirosyan claims that one of their first
steps will be the screening and demonstrating the housing conditions
of the refugees and displaced people in three cities – Yerevan,
Tbilisi and Baku. They sent a message to all interested persons and
circles of society reflecting the general picture and analysis of
the refugees and displaced people in the corresponding regions of
North and South Caucasus. Besides, 3000 symbolic hoses were made by
children and distributed in all regions which attracted everybody’s
attention. “This action is aimed at reminding the decision makers
that a large percent of refugees and displaced people in the Caucasus
live in collective settlements and are deprived of their fundamental
right to have a shelter.” Though many people suffer from poverty in
the Caucasus there are special issues relating to displaced people
who are the most vulnerable layer of the society. One of them is the
issue of dwelling places,” noted Seyran Martirosyan.
By the way, they underlined the fact that on the one hand the prices
of houses are going up rapidly in the market, and on the other houses
are fewer nowadays.
Thus the solution of the disputed issue lingers.

HEAD OF ARMENIAN CHURCH TO VISIT ISTANBUL
AP Worldstream
Jun 20, 2006
The head of the Armenian Orthodox Church is to begin a weeklong visit
to the Armenian community of Istanbul on Tuesday, where he will also
meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Karekin II, whose official title is Catholicos of All Armenians, has
issued statements saying Turks committed genocide against Armenians
around the time of World War I. Turkish nationalist protests during
his visit are likely.
Turkey has no relations with Armenia, and vehemently denies that Turks
committed genocide, saying Armenians who lived under the Ottoman
Empire were killed in internal fighting among ethnic groups as the
empire collapsed.
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation in the world to
officially adopt Christianity, while Turkey is 99 percent Muslim.

COMMISSION: ARMENIAN PLANE INTACT, ENGINES WORKING BEFORE CRASHING INTO BLACK SEA
AP Worldstream
Jun 19, 2006
The Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea last month
killing all 113 people aboard was intact, had its engines operating
normally and had enough fuel to land, a Russian commission said Monday.
The Armavia Airbus A-320 was under manual control of its pilots up to
the moment of the May 3 pre-dawn catastrophe near the Russian port of
Sochi, the Transport Ministry commission investigating the disaster
said in a statement.
The commission, which based its conclusions after analyzing the plane’s
“black box” flight recorders, did not attribute blame for the crash.
Prosecutors have dismissed the possibility that terrorists brought
the plane down, and officials point to rough weather or pilot error
as the likely cause. Armavia officials have suggested that air traffic
controllers were at least partly to blame, giving the pilots improper
instructions.
The commission said it planned further analysis of the recorders and
computer modeling to determine a cause.
The flight was en route to Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BELARUS AND RUSSIA HOLD JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE
AP Worldstream
Jun 19, 2006
Belarusian and Russian military forces have launched a weeklong
maneuvers _ the biggest-ever joint military excercise between the
countries, officials said Monday.
About 7,000 Belarusian and some 1,800 Russian troops are taking part in
the maneuvers that started over the weekend, said Belarusian Defense
Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Remenchik.
“That is the biggest Russian military contingent to take part in
maneuvers on the Belarusian territory to that date,” he told The
Associated Press.
As part of the maneuvers, 29 Belarusian and 19 Russian aircraft were
performing training missions Monday, Remenchik said.
The scenario of the exercise envisages joint response to an outside
military threat. As part of the training, Russian MiG-29 fighter jets
on Sunday practiced intercepting enemy planes over Western Belarus,
Remenchik said.
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed “Europe’s
last dictator” by the United States and other Western nations for his
relentless crackdown on dissent, has repeatedly accused the West of
harboring aggressive intentions.
Russia and Belarus signed a union agreement in 1996 providing for
close political, economic and military ties, and their armed forces
have held frequent joint drills.
Russia has watched warily as former Soviet bloc countries bordering
Belarus _ Poland, Latvia and Lithuania _ have joined NATO. Russian
military officials have announced plans to set up a permanent Russian
air base in Belarus and also deploy air defense missiles there.
On Saturday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and leaders of Armenia
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will visit Belarus to watch
the exercise. Along with Russia and Belarus, the ex-Soviet nations
are members of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty _
a pact envisaging defense and security cooperation.

THE GRAIN CROP IS IN PERIL
A1+
[12:34 pm] 20 June, 2006
12 360 hectares autumn sawing and about 8 400 hectares spring sawing
was realized in Syunik marz.
Recently there have been cases of aridity in 20 thousand-hectare
fields of grain in Sisian, Goris and Kapan because of the abrupt
temperature increase.
According to the meteorological centre the weather is likely to change
after June 17. Farmers assume that the threat of aridity will die out
in case the temperature decreases. Specialists point out that the
situation is under control and they are now realizing observations
in the fields.
TV Company “Sosi,” Kapan

CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF DECLARATION OF NKR TO BE HELD IN STEPANAKERT
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 16:42
June 21 an international scientific conference titled “The
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic: Past, Present, Future” dedicated to the
15th Anniversary of the declaration of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
will open at Artsakh State University in Stepanakert. About 200
representatives from over ten countries, including France, the US,
Russia, Germany, Great Britain and Armenia, will participate in
the conference, NKR Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Kamo
Atayan said.
“Holding such a representative conference we will reaffirm that the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a reality, a state that de facto exists
having all necessary state structures,” the Minister said. According
to Kamo Atayan, the fact that “the NKR is developing under conditions
of blockade, taking into consideration that the Republic has not been
recognized by the international community” is of peculiar interest.
There will be three sections in the course of the conference
– historical, cultural, as well as political-legal and
socio-economic. Kamo Atayan said for the first time the section of
culture will be held in the Gandzasar Monastery (XIII century) in
the NKR Martakert region.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HOUSE MEMBERS CALL ON EU TO ENCOURAGE TURKEY RECOGNIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ArmRadio.am
20.06.2006 16:48
The Armenian Assembly today commended longtime Armenian issues
supporter, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney for urging the European
Union (EU) to press Turkey to meet its accession criteria, properly
recognize the Armenian Genocide and end its ongoing blockade against
Armenia.
The congressional correspondence, addressed to European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso and signed by nearly two dozen lawmakers,
states that Turkey’s progress towards establishing guarantees for
democracy, rule of law, human rights and respect and protection of
minorities remains wholly inadequate.
The bipartisan letter states in part: “Of particular concern is
Turkey’s lack of interest in considering improvements in areas that
are of paramount importance for the integrity and credibility of
Turkey’s bid for membership.
Principal among such areas is the question of Turkey’s diplomatic
recognition of Armenia, and the removal of its blockade, as a
major impediment to regional security and development in the South
Caucasus. Equally critical is Turkey’s ability to end its official
policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide, and come to terms with
its genocidal legacy.”
“It’s time for Turkey to get serious about meeting its European Union
accession criteria,” Maloney said. “I hope that the EU will make very
clear to Turkey during these talks that it must remove its blockade
against Armenia and end its official policy of denial of the Armenian
Genocide.”
The United States has called upon Turkey to restore economic, political
and social ties with Armenia, while the European Parliament has
adopted a resolution urging Ankara to open its border with Armenia,
and recognize the genocide, as a precondition to membership to the EU.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO GEORGI GURJIYEV’S SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN AND GYUMRI ON JUNE 16-18
Noyan Tapan
Jun 19 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 19, NOYAN TAPAN. An international conference dedicated
to great thinker Georgi Gurjiyev’s life and scientific activity will
be held in Ye revan and Gyumri on June 16-18 during which Armenian and
American scientists will present reports concerning the philosopher’s
works. A film telling about Gurjiyev will also be presented within
the framework of the conference.
G.Gurjiyev is one of remarkable figures of philosophical and religious
conception of the early 20th century. During the philosopher’s
lifetime and after his death, his works were a source of inspiration
for numerous scientists. A huge literature concerning psychology,
literature, philosophy, health care, nature protection and religion
has been created based on their researches since 1950.