ANDRE GOES TO THE FINAL OF “EUROVISION-2006”
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 11:45
Sharp at midnight yesterday the semifinal of the 51st “Eurovision” song
contest started in Athens. At its first entry Armenia was represented
by Andre, who performed “Without your love” song. According to the
draw, Andre was to open the contest.
The official “Eurovision” website writes, “Armenia is in the contest
for the first time and has been drawn to open the show – talk about
a baptism of fire. But in front of a capacity crowd and millions of
TV viewers, Andre performs with a confident swagger… A great debut.”
According to “Eurovision” rules, the singers are graded by TV
viewers. The result of the voting revealed that Andre was among
the top ten, which means he will represent Armenia at the final on
May 20. Other countries that went to the final include Macedonia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden,
Turkey and Russia.
The finalists to perform on May 20 include also 14 countries that best
presented at “Eurovision-2005.” These include Switzerland, Moldova,
Israel, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Romania,
Great Britain, Greece, France and Croatia.

NATO DELEGATION HERE IN ARMENIA
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 12:15
NATO delegation is in Armenia to give preliminary evaluation of
the accomplishment of the Individual Partnership Actions Plan with
the alliance.
Currently the delegation is having meetings at the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs and Defense.
To remind, Armenia’s Individual Partnership Actions Plan with NATO
was ratified by the North-Atlantic Council on 16 December, 2005.

OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL WELL INFORMED ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN CEMETERIES IN NAKHIJEVAN
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 13:40
“I am well informed about the fact that the destruction of Armenian
cemeteries in Nakhijevan caused strong emotions in Armenia. The
Catholicos of All Armenians expressed his deep sorrow on this
occasion. We intend to work actively in the direction of resolving
the conflict to eliminate the roots of such phenomena,” OSCE Secretary
General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut told in his interview to MEDIAMAX
Agency.
In response to the question whether the OSCE is going to pay greater
attention to expressions of intolerance in our region, Marc Perrin
de Brichambaut said, “You raised a very important question. If the
existing political conflict acquires also a cultural nature, it will
become a rather complex factor.”

SEARCH FOR THE BLACK BOXES OF THE CRASHED A-320 CONTINUES IN THE BLACK SEA
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 14:05
Yesterday weather conditions allowed to lower the RT-1000 robot into
the Black Sea to search for the black boxes of the crashed the A-320
According to the data of the operative staff, they come across some
fragments, which resemble the black boxes of the crashed A-320. Some
fragments are suck into mud, which slows down the search works,”
the source informs.
Currently the pilot of the robot has been given the opportunity to
have a little rest. If weather allows, the underwater search will be
resumed, ITAR-TASS informs.

VOLUME ONE OF RICHARD HOVHANNISYAN’S “THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA” TRANSLATED INTO ARMENIAN
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 14:53
Now we can read volume one of Richard Hovhannisyan’s English-language
“The Republic of Armenia” book also in Armenian. The Armenian
translation of the book was presented today at the Union of
Writers. The inclusive history of 1918-1919 has been created on the
basis of rich archive materials, which point out the declaration of
republic in 1918 and the challenges of the time.
It took the writer about 30 years to write the three-year story of
the republic.
The book thoroughly presents the territorial disagreements over
Borchalu, Akhalkalak, Kars, Ardahan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur
and Nakhijevan.
“Richard Hovhannisyan’s historic investigations were considered
prohibited literature in Soviet era,” noted Ashot Melkonyan, Director
of History of the National Academy of Sciences.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE “UNION FOR THE SAKE OF ARMENIA” CONTINUE TO MEET THE CITIZENS
ArmRadio.am
19.05.2006 15:10
Representatives of the newly created “Union for the sake of Armenia”
Party and members of the “People’s Deputy” faction continue to meet
not only residents of marzes but also the citizens of Yerevan. This
time the meeting was held in Nor Nork community of Yerevan. The meeting
was attended by intellectuals, businessmen, NA Deputies and students.
One of the major aims of the Party is regional development, which
envisages serious consideration of problems in marzes. Another issue
is the organization of healthcare in the regions.
Member of the “People’s Deputy” faction Vladimir Badalyan said during
the meeting that all existing problems can be resolved via improvement
of the economic situation in the country.

FRANCE DEFERS ARMENIAN ISSUE
Lara Marlowe in Paris
Irish Times
May 19, 2006
FRANCE: There were cries of protest from left- and right-wing benches
when Jean-Louis Debre, the speaker of the French National Assembly,
suspended a stormy debate on the Armenian genocide yesterday.
Armenian visitors in the public gallery chanted in unison:
“Vote! Vote! Vote!” as gendarmes removed them.
When the socialist parliamentary group filed the proposed law last
month, few imagined it would be so divisive. The law is an addendum
to that of January 2001, which publicly recognised the Armenian
genocide of 1915. The new law, which may now never come to a vote,
would make denying the Armenian Holocaust an offence punishable by
up to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 45,000.
After the national assembly voted the 2001 law, Turkey cancelled
contracts with the French groups Thomson, Alcatel and Bouygues. Some
French products were boycotted, and taxi-drivers in Istanbul and
Ankara refused to take French passengers.
This time the French and Turkish governments did their utmost to
prevent the law passing. President Jacques Chirac appealed for a
“spirit of responsibility” on this “sensitive question”. The French
ministry of trade circulated a list of French contracts with Turkey –
worth $4.7 billion (3.7 billion) last year.
The French nuclear power company Areva hopes to build Turkey’s first
reactors soon, and the French minister for foreign trade will visit
Turkey with the heads of 40 companies on June 14th.
The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, threatened trade
sanctions if the law passed, while the Turkish foreign minister warned
of “irreparable damage” to relations.
“Dear colleagues, we resisted the United States during the Iraq
crisis,” the right-wing UMP deputy Roland Blum said. “Surely we can
stand up to the Turks!” His outburst was widely applauded.
Western historians are nearly unanimous in recognising that, as the
centre-right UDF deputy Francois Rochebloine recounted yesterday:
“From April 1915, the Young Turk government unleashed the horrible
process of the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, through
organised massacres . . . which prefigured the Jewish Holocaust
two decades later.” French deputies who followed their heads –
and pocketbooks – opposed the law. Those who followed their hearts
supported it. The main parties splintered, and there was plenty of
hypocrisy to go around. The right dragged out debates on two other
laws, to eat up the socialists’ time slot before the Armenian debate.
French opponents of the law do not deny the Armenian genocide
happened. But many were burned by a 2005 law praising the alleged
benefits of colonialism, which had to be rescinded due to public
outrage.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, the leader of the socialist parliamentary group, who
accused the right of obstruction, is known to be at best a reluctant
supporter of the law, because he wants historians – not politicians
– to judge history. Mr Ayrault and fellow group presidents must
now decide whether to continue the Armenian debate during the next
socialist slot in November.
In the meantime, there is bitter disappointment among many
parliamentarians, not to mention the Armenians who demonstrated
outside the assembly yesterday.
“They gave [ the law] a third class funeral,” said Patrick Devedjian,
a UMP deputy of Armenian origin. He alluded to the defacing of
memorials to the Armenian Holocaust this spring. “Memorials abroad
are the only sepulchres we have, so it felt like a desecration to
Armenians,” he said.
Mr Devedjian corrected the foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy,
when he alluded to “the memory of massacres committed in 1915”,
emphasising, “The genocide, Monsieur le Ministre”.
“The Armenian cause is just,” Mr Douste-Blazy continued. “It must
be defended and respected. But national representatives must take
account of the interest of France . . . The text submitted to you
would be considered, like it or not, as a hostile act by the vast
majority of Turkish people.”

ARMENIA UPBEAT ON KARABAKH TALKS IN STRASBOURG
Mediamax news agency
19 May 06
Yerevan, 19 May: Yerevan assesses positively the meeting of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers [Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar
Mammadyarov] in Strasbourg on 18 May, the press service of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry has told Mediamax.
“The Armenian side assesses positively the meeting, apart from the
fact that there still remain unsolved and uncoordinated issues,”
the Foreign Ministry said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said that the main aim of the Strasbourg
meeting was to prepare for a visit to the region of high-ranking
diplomats of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries – Russia,
the USA and France.
Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov first held a meeting in the
presence of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, the ministers then
continued the talks one to one.
“The principles of and approaches to the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict that are on the negotiating table were discussed at the
meeting,” the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry noted.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin, US Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried,
and French Foreign Ministry political director Stanislas de Laboulaye
are expected to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan on 24-25 May, accompanied
by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

POP HOPEFULS BID FOR GLITZ AND GLORY IN LARGER-THAN-LIFE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Jill Lawless
AP Worldstream
May 19, 2006
There was good news at the Eurovision Song Contest for a Bosnian
songbird, a Turkish diva, an Irish crooner _ and a lurid heavy-metal
band that declared: “It’s the Arockalypse.”
Ten competitors advanced to Saturday’s final of the venerable
international pop competition, including Turkey’s Sibel Tuzun,
Irish singer Brian Kennedy and Bosnian band Hari Mata Hari, led by
“Nightingale of Sarajevo” Hajrudin Varesanovic.
A surprise finalist in the contest decided by viewers’ phone and
text votes was outlandish Finnish rock band Lordi, whose “Hard Rock
Hallelujah” brought a dash of the demonic to the good-natured contest.
The group’s selection as Finland’s official entry sparked debate
in their homeland, with some questioning whether the mock-Satanic
rockers were the best possible ambassadors for the country.
Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ireland, Sweden, Russia, Lithuania,
Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia garnered the most votes and advanced from Thursday’s
semifinal. Thirteen other countries were eliminated.
The 10 join Greece, Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway,
Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Romania, Britain, France and Croatia
in Saturday’s final showdown.
Viewers tuning in to Thursday’s semifinal were treated to an
over-the-top extravaganza from the opening number _ a medley of past
Eurovision hits performed by figures from Greek mythology.
For half a century Europeans have embraced the glitzy, kitschy
Eurovision contest, a place where nations battle for pop supremacy and
musical tastes collide. And there was good news also for Americans _
the event is soon to be replicated on U.S. television.
“I think this is a beautiful way for countries to come together and
be part of sharing their own artists,” Swedish contestant Carola said
Thursday. “Like the Olympics, but in music.”
The annual contest, which sees nations vying for victory with live
performances ranked by the viewing public, has been running since 1956,
a forerunner of “American idol”-style music contests.
It introduced the world to ABBA, who won in 1974 with “Waterloo,” and
to Canadian crooner Celine Dion, who triumphed for Switzerland in 1988.
It remains a huge event, eliciting a potent mixture of passion and
derision from Europeans. Posters and billboards bearing the Eurovision
2006 slogan _ “Feel the Rhythm” _ are everywhere in Athens, which
is hosting the event because Greece won last year’s contest in Kiev,
Ukraine.
Organizers estimate more than 100 million TV viewers will watch
Saturday’s final from Athens’ Olympic Indoor Arena, an event covered
by 2,000 accredited journalists. Others around the world will follow
the show live on the official Eurovision Web site.
Relatively few Americans will be among them, but the United States is
due to get its own version of the poptastic contest. NBC announced
earlier this year that it would air an American show based on the
format, with acts from different U.S. states competing for viewers’
approval.
Part of Eurovision’s appeal is its equality. Tiny Andorra and giant
Russia are equal on the event’s stage _ each has three minutes to
win over viewers’ hearts.
Traditionally, they pull out all the stops, and this year is no
exception. British rapper Daz Sampson is backed by a group of dancers
dressed as schoolgirls as he advises, hiphop-style: “If you give the
kids time, they won’t do the crime.” Russian singer Dima Bilan is
backed _ for reasons that are not immediately obvious _ by white-clad
ballerinas, one of whom emerges from a piano.
It may be light entertainment, but politics are rarely far from
Eurovision. This year, Serbia-Montenegro withdrew from the contest
after a squabble over whether a Serbian or a Montenegrin act should
represent the former Yugoslav state.
Britons routinely complain that the complex voting system, in which
countries award each other points on a scale of one to 12, leads to
decisions based on national alliances rather than musical merit.
Research appears to confirm this _ a British computer expert has
identified a “Balkan bloc” and a “Viking empire” of like-minded
nations.
Organizers insist the contest is fair.
“This is a 100-percent democratic contest,” Svante Stockselius,
executive supervisor of the contest, said Wednesday.
The explanation for Britain’s poor showing in recent years may be
more complex. Like the European Union, Eurovision is changing, its
center of gravity shifting eastward. Ireland has won seven times,
more than any other country, but has not triumphed since 1996.
Britain is a five-time champion, but has not won the contest since
1997.
Winners these days are often from central and eastern Europe, where
Europop rules the musical roost. Ukraine won in 2004, Turkey the year
before that and Latvia in 2002.
This year, the bookies favor Cyprus-born Greek entrant Anna Vissi,
with British bookmaker Ladbrokes rating her the 3-1 favorite.
Some Greeks may be hoping the country does not retain the title,
and with it the right to stage the show next year. Ireland famously
struggled to pay the costs of hosting the mammoth contest after it
won three years in a row in the 1990s.

LONDON UNIVERSITY DISCUSSED GARABAGH CONFLICT
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19.05.20 06
Reportedly the Department for Public Relations of the Coordinating
Board of World Azerbaijanis (CBWA), the arrangement devoted to Garabagh
conflict was held at London University.
Besides Azerbaijani and English students, Armenian students of this
University also attended the conference. Professor Gulamrza Tebrizi,
Deputy Chairman of CBWA, told about crimes committed by Armenians
in territory of Garabagh region of Azerbaijan and guided by concrete
facts laid bare their lie and falsification.
First Armenians, then Azerbaijanis demonstrated their films. Armenian’s
film was devoted to “neighborhood relations” between Azerbaijanis and
Armenians, some rehabilitation activities supposedly being carried
out in occupied Garabagh territories. Opposed to it Azerbaijanis
stated that with help of such facts Armenians endeavor to inseminate
a view relating belonging of Garabagh to Armenia and convince the
international community of that.
Azerbaijan’s film demonstrated bloodshed committed by Armenians in
Garabagh, Khojaly genocide, and our occupied territories.
In respond to Armenians’ claims against film G.Tebrizi and others
presented numerous facts concerning occupation policy of Armenia and
bloodshed committed by them in Garabagh.