SKINHEADS ATTEMPT TO SET MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP ON FIRE IN ROSTOV
Panorama.am
15:14 01/08/06
At July 31 night, a barbarian act was committed against a monument
of Armenian culture in Rostov-na-Dony. Unknown people, who experts
believe were skinheads, tried to set the Museum of Russian-Armenian
Friendship on fire. The museum is located at temple Surb Khach of
the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The barbarians could not get into the temple but broke and burned
metal-plastic windows. The museum employees noticed the damage when
they came to work in the morning, Yerkramas newspaper, an Armenian
newspaper in Russia, reports. Experts believe that the damage is
caused by skinheads judging by nationalistic signs made on the walls
of the temple, saying “Russia to Russians!” “Time for white judgment
has come!”, “Push the pedal, beat Khachiks!”. Law officials of Russia
have not come with any verdict yet. /Panorama.am/

ARMENIAN SINGER THE 9TH AT INTERNATIONAL SONG CONTEST
Panorama.am
15:16 01/08/06
Razmik Amian, a young singer from Armenia, took the 9th position at an
international contest of pop music “New Wave 2006′ in Yurmala. Anjeli
La Rouse from USA was announced as the winner of the contest over
scoring her contender Janny Fiorellino from Italy by 3 points. Georgian
singer Sofiko took the third place. This is the fifth year that the
New Wave takes place in Yurmala. Its award fund makes up $100 000 to
be divided among first, second, third places (50, 30 and 20 thousand
respectively)./Panorama.am/

EVACUATION OF ARMENIANS FROM LEBANON TO CONTINUE AUGUST 3
Panorama.am
16:34 01/08/06
Yerevan-Aleppo-Yerevan flight of Armavia will bring the next group
of Lebanese Armenians to Armenia on August 3, Vladimir Karapetyan,
acting press spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
told Panorama.am. Karapetyan said the Armenian embassy goes on listing
people willing to arrive in Armenia. However, their number has gone
down, Karapetyan said.
The press spokesperson of the Armenian MFA said there are no Armenian
casualties among the victims. Up to today, 730 persons have been
transported to Armenia from Lebanon, 40 percent of them being Armenian
citizens. /Panorama.am/

INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF BLUE SHIELD CALLS ON CONFLICTING PARTIES
IN MIDDLE EAST TO BE RESPECTFUL OF CULTURAL PROPERTY
Armenpress
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS: ICOMOS International Secretariat
representative informed Armenpress that the International Committee
of the Blue Shield (ICBS) has released a statement on threatened
cultural heritage in the Middle East conflict.
The statement particularly says “The International Committee of
the Blue Shield (ICBS) deplores the unacceptable loss of human
lives, the considerable suffering, the rapid displacement of entire
communities, and the destruction that are currently taking place in
areas administered by Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. It
is also extremely concerned by the threat that the present conflict
could escalate still further.”
In the statement the committee calls on all parties to be respectful of
the cultural property in the region as cultural property is priceless
and irreplaceable, of vital importance not only to each community,
but also to humanity.
“It is universally recognized that this region has an extremely rich
cultural heritage, which has had a profound and lasting influence on
peoples throughout the world. This is demonstrated by the significant
number of sites in both Israel and Lebanon inscribed on the UNESCO
World Heritage list. The total or partial loss of cultural properties
in the area would seriously impoverish the collective memory of
mankind.
It would be a great tragedy if this is allowed to happen. ICBS
therefore calls on all parties to take the greatest possible care
to protect the rich cultural heritage of the region and to take the
necessary preventive measures to ensure that it is not damaged in
any way during the present conflict,” the statement says.
In the statement the ICBS also says that being keenly aware that there
are other compelling concerns at times of armed conflict, not least
the loss of human life, it wishes to stress that international law
prohibits the use of cultural property for military purposes or to
shield military objectives and urges all parties concerned to respect
the provisions of The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural
Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols, as
well as the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which calls on countries
‘not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or
indirectly the cultural and natural heritage’ in the territory of
other countries that are party to this Convention. Israel and Lebanon
have ratified both of these Conventions.
ICBS was founded in 1996 ‘to work to protect the world’s cultural
heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters’.

“I WILL NOT COOPERATE WITH THE CRIMINAL”
Lragir.am
02 Aug 06
Recently the press has been publishing information and suggestions
that the accumulation of the administrative and criminal resource
around the Republican Party is done for the former prime minister of
Armenia Armen Sargsyan to make him president in 2008. Armen Sargsyan
is also said to be likely to try to round up the so-called liberal
sphere for the political plans of Serge Sargsyan. Officially, Armen
Sargsyan did not deny or confirm these rumors, however, our sources
inform that Armen Sargsyan assured in a narrow circle that he “never
cooperated with the criminal and will never cooperate”, hinting at
the notorious “super political party”.

AZERBAIJAN LOST THE RIGHT FOR ITS TERRITORY
Lragir.am
02 Aug 06
Refugees and the Law of Nations civil society network, set up to
defend the rights and interests of Armenian refugees from Soviet
Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan, addressed a message August 1 to the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs Bryza, Fassier and Merzlyakov, who are meeting
in Paris August 2 to 4 to set the schedule of work in the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict.
Refugees and the Law of Nations addressed the co-chairs “in an
attempt to draw the attention of the international organizations to
the problem of 500 thousand Armenian refugees”.
“We regret to say that none of the proposals of the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict so far has
contained a single hint at defending the rights of the Armenian
refugees displaced from Soviet Azerbaijan and Nakhidjevan, recovery
of direct and indirect material and moral damage by the Azerbaijani
government, retrieving Homeland and the country of citizenship,” runs
the message addressed to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The authors
of the message announce that it is impossible to reach a lasting
settlement of the conflict over Karabakh without solving the problem of
the Armenian refugees. Refugees and the Law of Nations also informs
the co-chairs that the results of a poll among Armenian refugees
suggest that they will never return to their homes in Azerbaijan.
“Rejecting that it is the follower of Soviet Azerbaijan, the Republic
of Azerbaijan not only stated that it is not likely to settle the
problem of refugees but also took away from itself the right for
claims to the entire territory of former Soviet Azerbaijan. In terms
of the law, the only legal follower of Soviet Azerbaijan is Nagorno
Karabakh Republic. We think that if the Armenian refugees are granted
nationality of NKR, and the land which lie outside the territory
where NKR was declared but is under its jurisdiction is granted to
them as their property, it may partly solve the problem of Armenian
refugees,” runs the message of Refugees and the Law of Nations Civil
Society Network.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WHAT CONNECTION DOES THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATION HAVE?
Lragir.am
02 Aug 06
In Armenia, nobody doubts who the real leader of the Republican Party
is, who is going to strengthen his position in the political party.
He even set the timing, “in three or four months the results of the
process underway will become visible.” It goes without saying that
the minister of defense Serge Sargsyan is concerned, who is simply
going to buy the Republican Party, Manuk Gasparyan says.
However, even the “prophesy” of Manuk Gasparyan is useless already
because the “sale” of the Republican Party has already taken place,
which was confirmed during the extraordinary conference of the
Republican Party, when the one or two-days-old Republicans, who had
bid for membership to the Republican Party on Serge Sargsyan’s fancy,
were elected members of the Council of the party.
One of them, for instance, the mayor of Yerevan Yervand Zakharyan,
not only was elected member of the Council, but also elected others
like him. And he was assisted by the minister of communication and
transport Andranik Manukyan, studying the ballot of voting to the
Council of the Republican Party together with Zakharyan. Helping
one’s neighbor is not bad, of course, especially for a man who has
announced for a number of times about his close tie with God. He has
his political party, which is called “Solidarity”.
Consequently, it is supposed that the partisan ethic required not
interfering with the election of the Council of another political
party, especially if one is just a guest at the conference of this
political party. Of course, it is difficult to say that Yervand
Zakharyan followed Andranik Manukyan’s advice in voting. It is
also difficult to say that Andranik Manukyan advised anything to
Zakharyan. But it is a fact that Manukyan was scrutinizing the ballot
of voting to the council of the Republican Party, which our photo
camera recorded. Consequently, it is already a historical fact that
Andranik Manukyan was in the focus of the election of the Council of
the Republican Party.
And this fact is interesting not only because it is an interference
with the affairs of another political party. The point is that
Andranik Manukyan has always had controversies with the leader of
the Republican Party Andranik Margaryan. The recent controversy
occurred over the reports of ministries on 2005, when the prime
minister assessed the performance of the Ministry of Communication
and Transport as satisfactory, pushing the minister into a fury. This
is a fresh example. But there is an older, though a more vivid example.
When Andranik Margaryan was opening his hotel in 2001, President
Kocharyan and literally the whole government was there, except
Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan. So it was a surprise to see the
minister of communication and transport among the few guests of the
extraordinary conference of the Republican Party, who later appeared
during the voting to be more than just a guest. Maybe it was an effort
by Andranik Margaryan to make it up with his namesake, although such a
truce resembles a capitulation rather. And under these circumstances
it is already unimportant who capitulated, the prime minister to the
minister of communication or transport or to the minister who had
probably invited Andranik Manukyan. The fact is that the election of
the Council of the Republican Party already takes place outside this
political party as well.
HAKOB BADALYAN
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

VOTING WAS POSTPONED
Lragir.am
02 Aug 06
The news agency ARKA reports referring to the Armenian Assembly of
America that the voting to the nomination of Richard Hoagland U.S.
ambassador to Armenia was postponed until September.
The proposal on postponing the vote was extended by senators Joseph
Biden and John Kerry. The senators urge to vote to the nomination
of Richard Hoagland after he makes a clear statement that a genocide
was committed against the Armenians.

HIS NAME IS ANDRANIK MARGARYAN
Lragir.am
02 Aug 06
The defense minister’s membership to the Republican Party can serve as
a model for the political sphere of Armenia, said Artak Grigoryan,
member of the Council of the Republican Party, August 2 at the
Azdak Club.
“I consider this circumstance quite positive. This can also serve as a
model. Let us put aside everyting. Perhaps it would not be difficult
for Serge Sargsyan to set up a new party. If there is someone who
doubts this, they do not understand anything in politics. However,
using the existing basis is more correct than starting to grow new
flowers in the political sphere,” Artak Grigoryan says.
He also assured that there is no dual power in the Republican Party,
and there is a political leader he is led by for the past two years.
The name of this leader is Andranik Margaryan, Artak Grigoryan says.

“NONSENSE TO BE THE SUCCESSOR OF ILLEGAL AUTHORITY”
Aravot.am
01 Aug 06
– leader of “National Unity Party” Artashes Geghamian says.
Mr. Geghamian, how do you explain internal political situation in
Armenia when the authority powers are more active, than the opposition
powers? While the world worries about settlement of different important
problems, Kocharian-Sargsian couple makes efforts to dispart the
public, create hostility among our despaired people. Their only goal
is to prolong their authority at any cost. This is very anxious,
and when I try to analyze current events in Armenia, I remember the
famous proverb to this situation: feast during the plague. How do
you explain different people’s membership into Republican Party, in
your opinion why did the defense minister become Republican? They,
I mean Kocharian-Sargsian couple, have chosen very simple policy,
they try to distract people’s attention from the serious problems
of the republic focusing them on internal political events. It’s
obvious that it has no connection with the future of Armenia, with
its problems, which need in immediate solution. The ruling party
held its special congress but no party member raises any mental
new idea. They didn’t discuss any problem, which could be decisive
for the fate of country development. So internal political events in
Armenia have nothing general with the fate of Armenia. Anyway, how do
you explain defense minister’s membership into Republican Party, what
object does it purpose? If you follow the press, it will be clear for
you that they try to create such an impression, in particularly among
Minsk Group co-chairs’ countries, that Kocharian-Sargsian couple are
the only sober-minded statesmen who are tolerant in the NK conflict
peaceful settlement and ready to make a compromise that’s why they
are criticized both inside and outside the country. Mr. Sargsian
wants to prove the international community that he has become the
member of a party with Njdeh’s ideology, and prepares adoption of
mutual concessions passing through dangers. He wants to pretend
himself as a hero. There is also another point. Serge Sargsian and
Robert Kocharian fell the coming danger and realize very well that
the time of giving answers has already come. They couldn’t cheat our
people for 8 years assuring that there will be more perspective and
positive settlements in NK conflict, while we witness that great
economic projects, Baku-Tbilisi-Jeihan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum oil
pipelines have already been constructed, and Armenia is out of those
developments. Today it is spoken more and more that defense minister
is Robert Kocharian’s successor. Is it true?
Nonsense to be the successor of illegal authority. As regards the
wishes, there is a Russian famous proverb “wishing is not harmful”.
Margaret Yesayan
–Boundary_(ID_U5kv2YNjg6mXzpW9KoeL7A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress