BAD WEATHER STOPS SEARCH FOR FLIGHT RECORDER OF CRASHED PLANE
Dmitry Nezdorovin
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 23, 2006 Tuesday
The search for the flight recorder from the crashed plane A-320 has
been suspended in the Black Sea because of bad weather conditions.
Strong wind and high waves stopped deep-water operations using a search
robot, a member of operational headquarters told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.
The passenger plane A-320 of Armenia’s company Armavia fell in the
sea in the night of May 3 during a landing approach to the Russian
airport of Sochi.
The crash killed all 113 people on the board.
The plane’s voice recorder was recovered from the sea floor on Monday.
Specialists believe that the flight data recorder is not far from
the first and is buried in a layer of silt.
The RT-1000 robot used in the search for it has been equipped with
an additional silt-clearing pump.

IRANIAN GOVERNMENTAL DAILY CLOSED DOWN OVER INSULTING CARTOON
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 23, 2006 Tuesday 10:21 AM EST
The governmental daily newspaper Iran was closed down Tuesday over
an insulting cartoon against the country’s ethnic
Azeri population, the news agency ISNA reported.
The press supervising commission ordered the temporary closure of
the daily due to what it called “provoking cartoon.”
The Azeris comprise more than 25 per cent part of the Iranian
population and mainly live in the north-western provinces bordering
the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkey but also in other cities such
as in the capital Tehran.
The Azeris, whose main language is very close to Turkish and therefore
are referred to in Iran as Turks, dominate most of the commercial
centres in Iran but have always been branded by Persians as naive
and dull.
In line with Persian jokes on the alleged naivety of Azeri Turks,
the daily Iran last Friday carried a cartoon on which a boy was
frightened by seeing a cockroach and therefore shouting cockroach in
Farsi, but the cockroach asked the boy in Azeri dialect “what?”
Although the Iran daily has already apologized for the cartoon and
the cartoonist already fired, still protests by Azeris throughout Iran
have continued during the last three days. Even the Iranian parliament
referred several times to the insult as “efforts to disintegrate the
Iranian people.”
The Iran daily is affiliated to the state news agency IRNA and hence
controlled by the government and under direct supervision of the
press department of the Culture Ministry.
As the Azeris are Muslims and even follow the Shiite wing of
Islam, they are not classified as minority like Jews, Armenians
or Zoroastrians.
Many Iranian officials, including the head of the Iranian Atomic
Energy Organization Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh, are Azeris.

ONE OF TWO RECORDERS
by Igor Glanin
Vremya Novostey
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
May 23, 2006 Tuesday
Armenian Airbus’s in-flight recorder recovered from the Black Sea
Searchers on Monday recovered the cockpit voice recorder from an
Armenian passenger jet that crashed in the Black Sea nearly three
weeks ago, killing all 113 people aboard, Transportation Minister
Igor Levitin said.
Workers using a remote-controlled diving apparatus with a robotic arm
plucked the recorder from the sea floor nearly 500 meters beneath the
surface after removing a layer of silt up to half a meter thick that
had covered the black box and hidden it from searchers for days.
Levitin said at a news conference that authorities hope to soon
recover the flight data recorder, which they believe is under silt
just three to five meters away.
Officials hope the recorders will help determine the cause of the
May 3 crash of the Armavia Airbus A-320, which plunged into the sea
in heavy rain and poor visibility as it approached the airport on a
flight from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Sochi.
“I think that what happened would be revealed,” said Tatyana Anodina,
head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, the civil agency that
links Russia with 11 other former Soviet republics.
Anodina said the cockpit voice recorder was damaged by the crash and
may have suffered from the harsh conditions beneath the silt, but
expressed confidence that it would yield information “very important
to investigators” — a recording of the voices and other sounds in
the cockpit in the final minutes of the doomed flight.

ARMENIAN CHURCH JOINS IN CONDEMNING ‘DA VINCI CODE’
Agence France Presse — English
May 23, 2006 Tuesday 2:27 PM GMT
Armenia’s Apostolic Church on Tuesday added its voice to worldwide
religious condemnations of the film “The Da Vinci Code”, calling on
Armenians to boycott the blockbuster and the book it is based on.
“The book by Dan Brown is disrespectful in regard to a sacred part of
Christianity and insults the feelings of believers,” Church spokesman
Vagram Melikian told AFP.
“It contradicts the Bible and distorts Christian truths,” he said.
“The Da Vinci Code”, based on a best-selling novel of the same name by
US writer Brown, centres on a theory that Jesus Christ fathered a child
with Mary Magdalene, and that the Roman Catholic Church covered it up.
Since the film’s release last week, it has sparked protests from
Christian and Muslim groups in numerous countries, some of which have
banned it.
“We cannot ban the film. That is done by individuals, whom we call
on not to show the film on (cinema) screens in Armenia,” Melikian
said, adding that Armenia “made Christianity the state religion 1,700
years ago.”

VISIT OF PACE MISSION TO STUDY CULTURAL LEGACY POSTPONED
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2006 17:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The visit of head of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mission for Study of Cultural
Legacy, British MP Edward O’Hara to the region, scheduled May
28, is postponed. The exact date of the visit is not determined
yet. Nevertheless, the British MP will visit the region without fail,
Trend reports. The goal of the visit of the PACE mission is to study
the cultural heritage of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

THE YERKRAMAS: NOT TURKS VOTED FOR ANDRE IN TURKEY
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2006 17:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The votes of not Turkish population of
Turkey influenced the results of the vote at Eurovision-2006
contest. According to the Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of
Russia, a reader of the newspaper’s internet version from Ankara,
ethnic Armenian reported. In his words, ethnic Turks, not having the
right to vote for the Turkish participant at the Eurovision, merely
ignored the vote. As a result, most of the voters represented not the
Turkish population, but Armenians (including Islamized Armenians and
Cryptoarmenians, i.e. those, who conceal their Armenian origins from
people around them), Kurds, Greeks, Jews and others.
Andre singer, who represented Armenia at Eurovision-2006 was the
second best according to the Turkish vote. This was taken as a
sensation, taking into account the fact that contemporary Turkey has
not recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1915 yet.

KARABAKH CONFLICT: RESOURCES OF TALKS NOT EXHAUSTED YET
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2006 17:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Talks over settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict with active mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group continue,
Armenian Premier Andranik Margaryan stated in an online interview with
the Azg newspaper. In his words, bilateral meetings of Presidents and
FMs of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “The solution of the Karabakh issue –
is a hard and intense process and we should understand that any point
of the talks directly concerns our people, Armenia and NKR security,”
he remarked, adding resources of talks are not exhausted yet and one
should not be disappointed or draw any conclusions, if the positions
of one of the parties or the other becomes firmer. “Of course, when
there is no peace, and the cease-fire is not peace, the time is
against us and against Azerbaijan.
Apparently, establishment of peace and stability in the region is in
the interests of all the parties,” Margaryan remarked.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

1915 TURKISH GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS FILM SUBMITTED TO 2006 BOSTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2006 18:20 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Genocide Archive Project, Inc. submitted its DVD,
1915 Turkish Genocide of the Armenians, to the 2006 Boston Jewish Film
Festival (). Executive Producer David Davidian of the
Genocide Archive Project and Film Director Franchot Lubin of Lubin
Productions, compiled this 32 minute enhancement of an earlier DVD
created from Boston’s 90th Genocide commemoration.
As the Genocide Archive Project informed PanARMENIAN.Net, the 1915
Turkish Genocide of the Armenians DVD consists of a new, powerful
mini-documentary and three survivor accounts spanning the breadth of
Asia Minor: Armineh Dedekian from Bandirma (across the Sea of Marmara
from Istanbul), Peter Bilezekian from Marash, and John Kasparian
from Van. These three survivors were subsequently interviewed by the
Boston Globe in April 2005. The creators of this documentary have an
accomplished record in pursuit of Genocide recognition and film making.
The film is specifically aimed to educate students, teachers, and
lawmakers. Hundreds of these DVD were hand-delivered to members of
the U.S. Congress during March and April of this year by the two major
Armenian advocacy groups based in Washington, D.C. The DVD 1915 Turkish
Genocide of the Armenians consists of a powerful documentary and
survivor accounts, detailing cause, implementation, German complicity,
and aftermath of this World War I genocide. World indifference towards
this progenitor of modern state-sponsored genocide led directly to
its repetition by Nazi Germany against European Jews and other groups.

KOCHARIAN-ALIYEV MEETING LIKELY TO TAKE PLACE IN BUCHAREST JUNE 4-6
AZG Armenian Daily
24/05/2006
“We have been discussing the Nagorno Karabakh conflict for many times
in the course of Romania’s chairmanship in the Ministerial Cabinet
of the Council of Europe and the steps taken by the governments of
Azerbaijan and Armenia in that direction,” Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu,
foreign minister of Romania, told the European Bureau of APA.
He said that at present, it became more possible that some
positive results will be achieved that will satisfy both sides in
conflict. Mr. Ungureanu added that there is a good opportunity for
organizing the meeting of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “The
meeting may take place within the framework of the summit that
will be held on June 4-6 in Bucharest on the topic “The Black Sea
for Partnership and Dialogue.” I hope that all conditions will be
created in the summit for holding the meeting of the leaders of both
countries. This is very important from the viewpoint of organizing
the political dialogue in the current stage. This meeting may play a
big part in averting the tension and will prove that another political
dialogue may be held,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ELECTIONS IN CYPRUS
By George Der Parthogh
AZG Armenian Daily
24/05/2006
AKEL and Democratic Party Lead
NICOSIA, MONDAY – Nicosia businessman Vartkes Mahdessian is the new
Armenian Representative in the Cyprus Parliament for the next four
years. Mahdessian, 55, clinched 52.6 percent of the votes while his
opponent Dr Vahakn N. Atamyan secured 47.395 percent of the votes
cast by the 3,000 strong Armenian community of Cyprus.
Under the terms of the constitution of the Cyprus Republic, the
Armenians, Maronites and Latins, officially termed as religious
groupings, elect their own representatives who deal with only
educational and religious matters, but are usually members of
parliamentary sub-committees. They have no vote on other matters
in parliament.
The Cypriot Armenian community has three elementary schools – in
Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, which come under an overall committee
appointed by the elected representative. These schools are entirely
financed by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture and children
of Cypriot Armenians attend free of charge.
Non-Cypriot Armenians pay a small annual fee.
Mahdessian was the candidate of the Dashnak party while Atamyan was
supported by the Ramgavars, Hentchaks, the AGBU clubs and the small
Shahumian grouping attached to the Cyprus communist party.
When former representative Bedros Kalaydjian died in September last
year, Dr Atamyan won interim elections against another local Dashnak
leader Dr. Antranig Ashdjian.
Then, just as in the present case, one of the main topics during the
electioneering campaign was the unilateral decision of the AGBU Board
to close down the Melkonian Educational Institute, which created a
serious breach in the non-dashnak camp.
Meanwhile, in the Cypriot parliamentary elections, which were also
held on Sunday, Marios Karoyian (Armenian From his father’s side and
Greek from his mother’s) became the first Armenian to become a full
member of the House of Representatives (parlia^_ment).
In a brief statement during celebrations at Mahdessian’s election
he said: “Now we will have two Armenian voices in the Cypriot
legislative”. Ha was elected on the ticket of “Dimocratiko Komma”
(Democratic Party) founded by former Cypriot President, the late Spyros
Kyprianou and currently led by President Tassos Papadopoulos. For the
past three years, Karoyian was the Director of President Papadopoulos’
Political Office and often acted as government spokesman.
In the parliamentary elections, the Cyprus Communist Party AKEL
secured 31.13 percent of the cast votes, very closely followed by
the Democratic Rally (right wing) with 30.34 percent, while President
Papadapoulos’ Democratic Party could only muster 17.91 of the votes,
and the local socialist party EDEK clinched 8.92 percent. Ecologists
and Environmentalists collected 1.95 percent.
Highlights of Mahdessian’s manifesto include improvement of the
living conditions and problems of compatriots from Armenia and other
countries, get more Armenians to serve on government boards, secure
additional funds from European Union programs for the needs of the
community. He also promises to be “the impartial representa^_tive of
all members of our community, because we can only achieve our goals
through cooperation.”
Mahdessian pledged full support to the Armenian Patriarch of
Constantinople in the fight against the closure of the Melkonian,
as well as the Melkonian Alumni Association’s efforts to find a
solution to the problem of the Melkonian, the only Armenian boarding
high school in the Diaspora.