DEMAND FOR “AZERI AUTONOMY IN ARMENIA” NOT SERIOUS
PanARMENIAN.Net
19.04.2006 19:47 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan cannot invent anything new and the
demand for “formation of Azeri autonomy in Armenia” is not serious,
leader of ARF Dashnaktsutyun faction, historian Levon Mkrtchian told
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, Turkey practiced such line
in 1950-1960-ies when Armenian and Greek cultural monuments were
announced Turkish and Kurds were named “mountainous Turks”.
“Certainly the international community did not take it serious
and Turkey abandoned ottomanization of the peoples living on its
territory. Azerbaijan follows this way now. It fails to understand
that the world has changed and statements of the kind arouse nothing
but bewilderment,” Mkrtchian said.
He also informed that ARF Dashnaktsutyun faction has introduced
to parliament the draft bill “On rehabilitation of repressed and
displaced Armenians in 1931-1949, who later repatriated to Armenia”
To remind, “Azerbaijan’s Path” political movement has formed an
initiative group for returning “western Azeris, who were expelled
from Armenia in 1948-53 and 1988, to their homeland and granting
them autonomy”.

PACKAGE OF DOCUMENTS WITH STAGE-BY-STAGE SOLUTIONS
Panorama.am
14:52 19/04/06
Today the 8th session of the Committee of EU – Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation ended its work. Questions about NKR status and conflict
regulation were discussed during the session. Co-chair of the Committee
Armen Roustamyan mentioned that the variant, saying that first the
territorial and then the status problem must be solved, suggested by
the Azeri side is impossible.
“This question cannot be regulated unless the reason of the conflict
is removed,” the Deputy said and mentioned that the agreement to be
signed is going to be a package of documents, of course the realization
can be stage-by-stage yet first of all there must be full agreement.
“To say that the relations of conflict sides are hostile today is
to say nothing. The situation is far more strained and serious, and
as a matter of fact both Azeri official bodies and political figures
contribute to that,” the Deputy says. Yet, in the meantime he assures
that the Armenian side doesn’t want to start a new war and that it
would be right if the international institutions watched by means of
satellites and make sure which side breaks the ceasefire from time to
time. Then there will be no victims as a result of those “accidental”
shots.

IT’S NONSENSE WHEN A CONFLICT SIDE DOESN’T TURN INTO A NEGOTIATION SIDE
Panorama.am
14:25 19/04/06
Co-chair of the Committee of EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Armen
Roustamyan thinks the process of Karabakh conflict is not favorable
and constructive for us. One of the results is that Nagorno Karabakh
doesn’t participate in the negotiations.
“Karabakh conflict is recognized as an ethno-political one,”
A. Roustamyan mentioned at the session of the Committee of EU-Armenia
Parliamentary Cooperation in the NA today. He also stated that the
conflict is not going to be solved unless the main reason is not
removed. Thus, as he said, the question of Karabakh status shouldn’t
be omitted, otherwise the expectations of the regulation will be
exaggerated.
“First, the situation when a conflict side doesn’t become a
negotiation side is rather illogical if not absurd.” The co-chair
calls to make the negotiation process full and not yield to Azeri
rough and non-constructive negotiation position as a result of which
NK is being forced out of negotiation process.
Moreover, Armen Roustamyan also stated that it was NK who concluded
a truce in Bishkek. “The situation that we call a situation of
neither war nor peace or simply an incomplete ceasefire has in its
basis two agreements, and there is the signature of NK under those
two agreements,” the chairman of NA Permanent Committee of Foreign
Relations.
“The hostile announcements of Azerbaijan are going on as the
international community gives Azerbaijan the opportunity to continue
the process by the script they like.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

YERAZGAVORS AND BAYANDOUR COMMUNITIES WITHOUT WATER
A1+
13:48 19/04/06
On April 18 it has been informed that at about 12.00 as a result of
overflow of Akhuryan reiver the waters of the river have driven away
the territory of 30 meters next to the water pipe of Poultry factory
in Bayandour community. As we have been informed in press department of
Armenian Rescue Service Gharibjanyan and Getkh villages have partially
remained without water, and Yerazgavors and Bayandour communities
became fully “waterless”. The workers of “Shirak water-sewerage”
are carrying out restoration works after the incident.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

37 HOUSES BUILT FOR THE HOMELESS
Panorama.am
13:01 19/04/06
Tomorrow an agreement is going to be signed in Mother Seat Holy
Echmiadzin by which starts the cooperation of Armenian Apostolic
Church and “International Habitat” in the work of building dwellings
for homeless and unprovided families. As we have been informed form
the information board of Holy Seat St. Echmiadzin accorfing to the
above mentioned agreement Habitat is going to hold annual ceremony
named building program “Patriarch of All Armenians Garegin Second”.
This year the latter is planned to be held from September 5-9. 37
houses will be built in RA regions for the homeless. And 37 is the
number of dioceses of Armenian Apostolic Church.

MOBILIZATION WAS HIGHLY ORGANIZED
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
18 April 2006
The April 12 a planned mobilization was carried out. According
to Arthur Tavaratsyan, Deputy Military Commissar, the head of the
Department for Mobilization, it was intended to check the preparation
of reserve officers and the rank and file, as well as the coordinated
activity of military commissars. The latter were instructed to
mobilize the reserve and direct them to military units in an appointed
period of time. Deputy Military Commissar Arthur Tavaratsyan said the
mobilization was highly organized and well planned. “We fulfilled the
task 11 hours before the deadline, which once again proves that the
society and staffs of companies are highly responsible. Besides it is
patriotism when everyone is conscious of the importance of the problem
and appears in the required place on time,” said Arthur Tavaratsyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DOCTORS VISITED ASKERAN
Laura Grigorian
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
18 April 2006
In the frame of a program of the Ministry of Health on April 12 a group
of leading doctors visited the town of Askeran to provide free medical
aid to people living in the town and the adjacent villages. There had
been a similar visit to Shushi. A senior official of the NKR Ministry
of Health Karineh Alexanian said besides the main purpose of these
visits the group of doctors conducts trainings for the local medical
workers. The group included a general practitioner, two pediatricians,
a neurologist, an ENT doctor, an ophthalmologist, a surgeon and a
specialist of endocrinology. Karineh Alexanian said the group did not
include a dentist and a heart doctor, because the local hospital has
these medical specialists. On that day 127 patients were examined,
14 by the general doctor, 14 by the specialist of endocrinology,
16 by the neurologist, 20 by the surgeon, 17 the ENT doctor and 10
by the gynecologist. “We had expected more patients, but many people
were unable to get to the town.
Nevertheless, there were a number of patients from villages,” said
the head of the group. The hospital of Askeran had announced about
the visit of doctors, and when they arrived many people were already
waiting for them. Karineh Alexanian said there were patients who had
not seen the doctor on time and needed hospital care. Some of them were
hospitalized, others needed examination by a specialist. There were
shortcomings in child health care. The patients who needed an operation
on the eye were advised to go to the republic hospital. There were a
number of patients with hearth diseases and therapeutic patients. ”
People were satisfied with the visit of the doctors. Such visits
are necessary, and the ministry is trying to make these visits more
frequent,” said Karineh Alexanian. Next the doctors will visit the
village of Chartar, Martuni region in late April.

HOUSEWARMING IN MARTAKERT
Goyamart
Azat Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
18 April 2006
The problem of housing of army servicemen is being solved more
effectively.
Only in the past three months about 90 families of servicemen were
provided with apartments, not only in Stepanakert but also in the
regions of the country. Recently a block of 24 apartments was opened
in the town of Martakert. At the ceremony were present Defense Minister
Seyran Ohanian, representatives of the Army Command, the administration
of the region, as well as the families of servicemen.

MEMORIAL TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PROFANED IN LYON
ArmRadio.am
19.04.2006 17:35
Monday April 17, 2006, seven days before the commemorations of the
Genocide of 1915, the steles of the Armenian Memorial set up in the
town of Lyon (France), which must be inaugurated by President Jacques
Chirac, were profaned with inscriptions of insults.
“Following the official opening of the memorial on April 24 a criminal
case may be launched to reveal and punish the guilty,” Director of
the European Armenian Federation Hilda Tchoboyan said in her phone
talk with “Radiolur” correspondent.
The vandalism against the memorial to the Armenian Genocide in Lyon
escalated a great noise in the Armenian community.
“Yesterday representatives of the community invited a press conference,
attended by a great number of journalists,” Hilda Tchoboyan told.
By the way, the Socialist Deputies of the French Parliament brought a
new suggestion to add a point on “Punishing Genocide Deniers” in the
Law on the Armenian Genocide.

PAPER REPORTS ELECTORAL FRAUD IN ARMENIA
Aravot, Yerevan
18 Apr 06
Text of Aram Abramyan’s report in Armenian newspaper Aravot on 18
April headlined “Dynamics of impudence”.
According to the head of a local polling station [name withheld],
[Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan gained 12 per cent of votes at
his polling station during the first round of the 2003 presidential
election. But on orders from above they changed the result to 60 per
cent. Only 60 people participated in the constitutional referendum
of 2005 at the same polling station, but they reported that 1,649
people said “yes” to the reform. In some other country this would be
considered to be a sensation, but not in Armenia. Here from Robert
Kocharyan to a street cleaner nobody doubts that this is true and
not only at this polling station.
Here the dynamics of the authorities’ impudence are interesting. I
think that 12 per cent gained by the president in 2003 is not a bad
sign. In a country like Armenia, where 80 per cent of the population
are displeased with their social status, a president who is elected
for the second term could not gain more than 12 per cent of the vote.
But in this case the difference between the real and invented figures
is fivefold. But in the case of the constitutional referendum it is
27.5 times. First, if only 60 people out of 2,000 turned out to vote,
this means that people are absolutely indifferent to the constitutional
reform. In this case the authorities do what they want. Second, our
opposition should have found the person who rigged the polls instead
of recalling its representatives from polling stations.
Today, if our prosecutor’s office is clever enough, it should
immediately report to the Council of Europe that it has finally
punished the person who committed electoral fraud. It should also
punish [name withheld] so that others do not dare to tell what they
did when rigging elections.
But certainly, this is not so much important. What is important is
that US ambassador to Armenia John Evans liked the constitutional
referendum in Armenia and he considered it to be almost democratic.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress