COUNCILLOR OF INTELLECTUALS’ FORUM PROPOSES TO ORGANIZE PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSION ON REASONS OF PLANE CRASH
Noyan Tapan
May 22 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The Councillor of the Intellectuals’
Forum of Armenia proposes to hold professional hearings and discussions
connected with the state existing at the Armenian aviation and the
A-320 plane crash. It is said in the statement of the organization that
after the May 3 Sochi crash of the A-320 plane, official instances
have by now served versions which are not only incompatible but also
oppose known facts and professional opinions.
“The impression is that all these are done thinked up to create
atmosphere of hopelessness, and why not, of indifference among the
society,” the Intellectuals’ Forum Concillor states. The authors of
the document consider one of the reasons of the accident “the inner
unhealthy political atmosphere which left its negative trace on the
Armenian air communication system as well.”

THE LONG PATHS BROUGHT RUBEN KOCHAR’S “PATH” FILM TO ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
23.05.2006 18:00
The long paths brought Ruben Kochar’s Armenian-American “Path” film to
Armenia. May 25, 26 and 27 the film will be screened in Yerevan. The
film tells about an Armenian young man, to be more exact about one
of the most painful issues in Armenia – emigration.
The film has already been presented at a festival. On February 14
the international festival in San Francisco started with the “Path”
film. October 30 it will be presented at a festival in Brazil. It
will certainly participate also in the Armenian “Golden Apricot.”
The director of the film noted, however, that the festivals are not the
most important. People’s reception and evaluation is more important.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE SEARCH WORKS AT THE SITE OF CRASH OF THE A-320 RESUMED IN THE MORNING
ArmRadio.am
23.05.2006 17:31
This morning the search works in the Black Sea resumed. Although the
Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin said that the works would
continue the whole night, last evening the rescuers had to stop the
search because of the storm.
To remind, yesterday one of the recorder boxes was extracted from
the depth of 496 meters, and the commission investigating the case
hopes to hear the voices of the pilots soon.
The Russian General Prosecutor’s Office informed that the box was
seriously damaged, and its decoding will not be easy.
The second box recorded the parameters of the flight: the height,
the speed and the angle degree for certain periods of time. It is no
less important than the other recorder lifted.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE NOT ONLY HISTORICAL FACT, BUT ALSO LEGAL NOTION
Yerkir
23.05.2006 16:49
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – History is not the historian’s manor. The Armenian
Genocide is not only a historical fact but also a legal notion that
is defined in the French Criminal Code,” Patrick Devedjian, an MP
representing the Union for Popular Movement and Adviser of Interior
Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, told Le Figaro. In his words, the parliament
is entitled to deal with legal issues.
“Nevertheless, I stand for free historic debates. The issue that
we discuss today is the shameful Turkish denialism in France. The
legislative power’s interference is necessary to avoid clashes between
communities,” he remarked.
The foreign minister was the government’s representative and he
explained that “Turkey should not be distressed by adopting this bill”,
Devedjian underscored. “I am astonished over his arguments on trade
relations, which is not only immoral but also wrong. Should I say
that around 1.5 million people fell victim to the Armenian Genocide?
Besides, the market economy is not subject to Ankara’s orders. In
2001 the French Parliament adopted a law, recognizing the Armenian
Genocide. Turkey threatened with sanctions. But the next year
our export to Turkey rose by 32 percent,” Devedjian said, the Azg
newspaper writes.

RUSSIA FINDS AIRBUS ‘BLACK BOX’
BBC NEWS:
europe/5007700.stm
2006/05/23 09:48:25 GMT
A Russian search team has recovered the cockpit voice recorder from an
Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea on 3 May, killing
113 people.
The “black box” had been lying in a thick layer of silt on the seabed,
at a depth of about 500m (1,640ft).
Investigators hope it will help explain why the Armavia Airbus A320
plunged into the sea. The crash happened in bad weather as the jet
approached Sochi.
The “black box” was damaged by the impact, Russian officials said.
A search continues for the flight data recorder. A signal has been
received from it and there are hopes it will be recovered in the
coming hours.
The A320 crashed at about 0215 (2215 GMT) on 3 May as it made a second
attempt to land at an airport near Sochi, a Russian resort town.
It was initially refused permission to land because of poor weather.
Most of the passengers were Armenian, but there were also 26 Russian
nationals. Among those on board were eight crew and six children.
Armavia, the airline which owned the plane, says that it was in good
condition and that the crew were experienced.
The Airbus was manufactured in 1995 and underwent checks last month.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHANGES TO CRIME CODE
Lragir.am
23 May 06
On May 23 the National Assembly passed the bill introduced by the
government of Armenia on first reading. If it is enacted, hard labor
will be eliminated as a punishment. The minister of justice Davit
Harutiunyan said this punishment is hardly ever administered and
is formal.
Besides, the government suggests defining crimes on their graveness,
and adopting fine or social work as punishment for not only felonies or
misdemeanors. If the sentence is two years of imprisonment, a convict
may appeal for replacing his or her punishment with social work.

ARMRUSGASARD PROPOSES THAT GEORGIA STORE GAS IN ABOVYAN
Lragir.am
23 May 06
Karen Karapetyan, the executive director of Armrusgasard, told
news reporters the company had proposed that Georgia store gas in
the reservoir of Abovyan, reports ARKA News Agency. “We offered our
Georgian partners to contribute to the expansion of the gas reservoir
in Abovyan, imparting it with a regional importance,” said Karen
Karapetyan. According to him, the Georgian party is likely to build a
reservoir similar to that of Abovyan. The initiative of Armrusgasard
is currently under consideration. “We suggested that Georgian party
make a financial contribution to the reconstruction of the reservoir
in Abovyan, because Armenia will soon have the alternative Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline,” said Karen Karapetyan.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I WELCOMES THE ELECTION OF A NEW REPRESENTATIVE
FOR THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF CYPRUS
Parliamentary elections in Cyprus on May 21 led to the election of a new
representative of the Cypriot Armenian community in the country’s
parliament.
Archbishop Varoujan Hergelian, Catholicosal Vicar to Cyprus, held a phone
conversation with the Pontiff on the evening of May 21 and informed him that
Vartkes Mahdessian has been elected as the new representative of the
Armenian community in the Cypriot parliament. The newly elected MP then
called the Catholicos himself, assuring him of his readiness to serve the
Armenian community of Cyprus.
His Holiness welcomed the election of Mahdessian, granted his pontifical
blessings and advice to the MP. Aram I stressed the importance of
strengthening the integrity and unity of the Armenian community of Cyprus,
encouraging cooperation between its structures, gathering Armenians around
the church and pursuing the interests of the community with the government.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PEOPLE’S DEPUTY TURNED DOWN PROPOSALS OF COALITION
Lragir.am
23 May 06
Member of Parliament Karen Karapetyan, the leader of the People’s
Deputy Group, told news reporters May 23 that they had proposed to
nominate him speaker of the National Assembly. But Karen Karapetyan
declined this offer.
“I received certain proposals to occupy higher positions, but I
think occupying a position is not a goal, not a means for fulfilling
goals. Now I do not find it expedient to take up a post. As to the
group, it was also offered posts in the government and the National
Assembly. But the group finds that it must not be an end in itself.
If at the moment we took this chance and used these opportunities
not in favor of our people, at the moment, over this short period of
time, this work would not be effective, therefore we think it cannot
be our goal, it is merely a means,” states Karen Karapetyan.
However, according to him, it does not mean “we believe in ultra
approaches.”
The leader of the People’s Deputy says they have their logic, which has
its goal – political balance. “The key problem is political balance in
the country. If we fail to maintain political balance in the country,
forces from outside may impose their interests on many political forces
and attempt at fulfilling their interests in our country and try to
control our political sphere,” says Karen Karapetyan. According to
him, the People’s Deputy acted similarly over the past years, and it
is not going to change the logic of its activities.
“Since the correlation of forces in the National Assembly, the
opposition-government balance has changed, our main goal is also
political balance, in other words, we will be giving greater support
to the government to maintain political balance together,” says Karen
Karapetyan. He assures that the People’s Deputy was and will remain
in the constructive field.
“Hence, the prime problem: there is a single word at the top of the
pyramid – political balance. Any activity will be made to correspond
to this,” says Karen Karapetyan. He declined to say what posts the
People’s Deputy Group had been offered in the executive and the
legislative. Karen Karapetyan also declined to say if the government
offered stipulations along with offices. “I think our behavior
has always been adequate, and over this period our activities were
dignified. I think we did right. Besides, what does it mean “to offer
stipulations”? They proposed, they said there were such proposals,
we said we would think on these proposals, then we said no,” says the
leader of the People’s Deputy Group. He says the reason for declining
the proposal of the government was the lack of time rather than the
unsatisfactory levers offered to us.
Nonetheless, Karen Karapetyan gave an ambiguous reply with regard to
stopping the talks for entering the coalition. “I will say only one
thing: I think the group behaved in a highly dignified manner. In
fact, it means that there is no necessity to negotiate. We will be
working together, our priority is the political balance, we will be
working with them in this framework,” said Karen Karapetyan.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
THE AMBASSADOR OF NORWAY VISITS ANTELIAS
His Holiness Aram I received the Ambassador of Norway to Lebanon and Syria
in his office in Antelias on May 22. The Catholicos and the Ambassador
discussed the situation in the Middle East, the Syrian-Lebanese relations
and the Christian-Muslim dialogue. The Pontiff in particular expressed some
concerns related to the dialogue.
The talks also included discussions on Turkey’s accession to the EU and the
current efforts in the pursuit of the Armenian Cause.
The Ambassador has been appointed by his government as a representative of
Norway in issues related to the Middle East and the peace process in
particular.
##
View the photo here: tm#2
****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.