DASHNAKS GET ANOTHER MINISTERIAL POST
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 17 2006
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) boosted
its presence in Armenia’s government on Wednesday when one of its
leaders was named by President Robert Kocharian minister of science
and education.
Levon Mkrtchian, who has led the nationalist party’s parliament
faction until now, replaced Sergo Yeritsian as a consequence of the
Orinats Yerkir party’s expulsion from Kocharian’s ruling coalition.
Yeritsian was sacked by Kocharian despite defecting from Orinats
Yerkir along with the two other ministers representing the party led
by Artur Baghdasarian, the outgoing parliament speaker. He is expected
to be given another, less important government post.
Orinats Yerkir has controlled the Armenian ministries of education,
urban development and culture under a power-sharing agreement which it
had signed with Kocharian, Dashnaktsutyun and Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian’s Republican Party (HHK) three years ago.
Dashnaktsutyun had been given three other ministerial portfolios and
reportedly laid claim to the Education Ministry immediately after
Baghdasarian announced his exit from the coalition on Friday.
Mkrtchian, who already served as education minister in 1998-99 and
2001-03, emerged as the top contender for the job. Speaking to RFE/RL
on Tuesday, he did not deny that his appointment is imminent. “The idea
of taking over [the ministry] for a third time is not quite attractive
to me, but I am the kind of person who complies with party discipline,”
he said.
Mkrtchian indicated that Dashnaktsutyun will not claim the post of
parliament speaker when it formally becomes vacant next week. One
of the National Assembly’s two deputy speakers, Tigran Torosian,
appears to be in pole position to succeed Baghdasarian.
The second vice-speaker, Vahan Hovannisian, is also a Dashnaktsutyun
leader.

KAZIMIROV: NK’S PARTICIPATION IN NEGOTIATION PROCESS NECESSARY
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
May 17 2006
The process of the Nagorno Karabakh delegation’s exclusion from the
negotiation process on the settlement began immediately after the
OSCE summit in Budapest in December 1994, Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement in 1992-1996
Ambassador Vladimir Kazimirov told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. According
to him, the exclusion of NKR was initiated by Azerbaijan.
“At that time official Baku stated if Karabakh was engaged in the
talks, it should be presented by the Azeri community as well.
However, the proposal was rejected both by the Armenian party and
the Co-Chairs. Then Baku insisted on the exclusion of the Armenian
delegation of Karabakh. Nevertheless I believe the NKR representatives’
participation is necessary,” Kazimirov stressed.
As for the current stage of the negotiation process, Vladimir
Kazimirov said the responsibility should be shared by the RA and AR
FMs and Presidents. In his opinion, NGOs should be also involved in
the process.

MICROSOFT OPENS OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 17 2006
YEREVAN, May 17. /ARKA/. Official representative office of Microsoft
Corporation was opened in Armenia on May 16. Director of the Armenian
representative office of the company Grigor Barseghyan said coming
plans of Microsoft in Armenia envisage enlargement of the circle of
its partners, instruction in high technologies and cooperation with
the RA Government.
According to the Vice-President of Microsoft in the region of Central
and Eastern Europe Vahe Torosyan, opening of the corporation’s office
in Armenia is of great importance for the country, especially in the
light of recent success in the sphere of economy of the republic and
particularly in the IT sphere.
The Chairman of the Union of IT Enterprises Hovhannes Avoyan said
opening of Microsoft’s representation in Armenia will enable Armenia
to take its deserving place and use elaborations of the corporation
in the proper way.
Microsoft Corporation was founded in 1975. At present it is the
world leader in the sphere of software development and servers,
service rendering and elaboration of Internet-technology.
Its production is being sold in more than 80 countries of the world and
was translated into more than 45 languages. Microsoft’s representative
offices exist in CIS countries as well, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
and Azerbaijan.

CASE OF MURDER COMMITTED BY NATIONALISTS GOES TO TRIAL
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 17 2006
MOSCOW, May 17 (Itar-Tass) – The Moscow regional transport prosecutor’s
office has turned over the case of murder of an Armenian to the Moscow
regional court.
The Armenian, Samvel Tadevosyan, was killed in an electric train in
the region in August last year.
Seven young people, including three underage persons, students of
institutions of higher learning and special schools, are charged with
the crime, a source at the prosecutor’s office told Itar-Tass.
The defendants have radical nationalist views, as the investigation
has established.
According to the investigation, the group on August 9, 2005 planned
an attack on persons of non-Slav appearance and decided to make a
videotape of the attack to sell the recording later.
They changed trains for two hours on the night to August 10 and went
through train cars to find people of Caucasian or Asian appearance,
until they saw the Armenian in a train between Odintshovo and
Bakovka. They seized his mobile telephone, money and documents and
struck the man on his head and neck with a piece of a broken glass
bottle. The man died at the site.
The group is also charged with attacking other two people in trains
the same night, including a police officer, whose money, documents
and valuable things were seized.

PANIC IN THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA OVER TURKISH PRESSURE ON FRANCE
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 17 2006
Sources are reporting that the Armenian diaspora in France is reacting
negatively to the general reaction from both business and civilian
organizations in Turkey in the run-up to the debates tomorrow in
the French Parliament on a bill which, if approved, would mandate
prison sentences for those denying Armenian claims against Turkey of
a genocide. Fearful that the law may not pass tomorrow, organized
members of the Armenian diaspora in France put a full page ad in
yesterday’s French newspaper “Liberation” in support of passage of
the bill. The ad noted that “denial is a crime” and that “a law is
necessary” to deal with the denial.
One web site run by Armenians in France, “Nouvelle d’Armenie,”
reflected the general feeling in the community yesterday, with an
article entitled “Turkey’s unacceptable blackmail.” Portions of the
article read “For days, Turkey has been putting pressure on France
to prevent the passage of the denial bill. Prime Minister Erdogan is
himself threatening French firms with boycotts. There is an aggressive
e-mail campaign aimed at the French Parliament members.
Despite this propoganda, the French Armenian Organization Coordination
Council believes that the interference by a third country in France’s
business will not be accepted, as French laws concern only French
citizens.”
Meanwhile, Turks living in Paris have organized a group in connection
with the controversial “genocide denial” bill, and have sent more
than 12 thousand e-mails and letters to French MPs and top level
authorities over the past weeks. Tomorrow, during the talks in the
French Parliament on whether or not to pass the bill, the Turkish
group, calling themselves “Soz Hurriyeti Kolektifi,” will protest in
Paris’ La Place d’Invalides.” Armenians have also reportedly received
permission from the police to protest at a different spot.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

STEP TOWARD CLOSURE?
By Yonet Tezel
Charge d’affaires, Turkish Embassy
Globe and Mail, Canada
May 17 2006
Ottawa — It might surprise many Canadians to know that, for centuries,
the Turkish-Armenian relationship was predominantly about friendship,
tolerance and peaceful co-existence. It is unfortunate that, all too
often, only the incriminating version of the tragic events of 1915
are taken to represent this relationship.
It should not be inconceivable for both nations to come to terms with
what happened during the First World War and renew their friendship.
That is why Turkey has made a serious effort to engage the Armenian
side in a dialogue about that tragic phase and has proposed
establishing a group of Turkish, Armenian and other historians and
experts to study the events, not only in the archives of Turkey and
Armenia, but in all relevant archives. Their findings would then be
presented to the international community.
Despite Turkey’s offer, however, some accuse the Turks of being
“denialists” and try to discredit any non-Turkish scholars, should
they dare question the validity of Armenian claims.
It is disappointing that Patricia Marchak (The Bonds of History —
letter, May 12), in stating that she has already done research on
this subject for a book she wrote, brushes aside this honest effort
to get to the bottom of the claims of genocide by conducting a joint
study of the primary sources.
Genocide is a very serious accusation. The language of knowledge,
not conviction, should prevail. It could be the first step toward
real closure for both peoples.
tory/LAC.20060517.LETTERS17-11/TPStory/Comment
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NATIONALIST ATTACK DISSIDENTS DINK AND ENGIN DURING TRIAL
BÝA, Turkey
May 17 2006
Armenian Turkish journalists Dink and Engin were attacked during court
hearing in Istanbul. Defendants escaped near-lynch attempt under police
protection. “They are exploiting court cases for nationalist plots”
says Dink.
BÝA (Istanbul) – Groups of nationalist spectators attacked defendants,
their lawyers and observers during the court hearing of bilingual
Armenian-Turkish Agos newspaper editor Hrant Dink, the paper’s
editor-in-chief Serkis Seropyan and columnist Aydin Engin at the
Istanbul 2nd Court of First Instance.
The defendants and their lawyers barely escaped a lynch attempt
as the tiral closed. After an hour-long siege in the justice hall,
they were escorted out to safety by policemen.
Dink, Engin and their lawyers Fethiye Cetin and Ergin Cinmen told
bianet that tensions in Tuesday’s hearing, where the defendants are
on trial for attempting to “influence justice”, started when they
turned up in front of Istanbul’s Sisli justice hall.
The group arrived at the court building to find its entrance populated
by angry nationalists shouting “get the hell out of this country”
to them in a physically threatening manner.
“We had to enter the court building surrounded by a police cordon”
Cetin explained. Dink added, “thankfully the police officers did
everything to get us into the court building safely. They took us up
to the court room in a special lift”.
The defendants and their lawyers were then verbally abused and had
to divert physical assaults in the corridor before they entered the
court room itself, where during the hearing coins and pencils were
thrown at them and they were insulted by a group of observer believed
to be led by nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz.
“I was only harassed verbally and through physical attacks by those
people filling the corridors of the court room” Dink said, noting that
they were mainly shouting “get the hell out of this country” to them.
Hearing under abuse
Dink and his co-defendants Seropyan and Engin attended Tuesday’s
court hearing under heavy verbal and physical abuse that was also
noted into court records.
Nationalist “Jurists Union” lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, Civilian Society
Organisations Union of Turkey (TSTKB) member Ramazan Kirkik, retired
general Veli Kucuk and Independent Turkish Orthodox Patriarchy
spokesman Sevgi Erenerol were among those at the hearing demanding
to be accepted as official complainants of the journalists and were
repeatedly warned for their behaviour by the bench.
During the hearing itself, defence lawyers were repeatedly threatened
verbally, being told “we are also watching you”.
Agreeing with prosecutor Mustafa Dag’s views, the court decided to
reject three separate appeals by the nationalists to be accepted
as complainants on grounds that they were “not directly effected by
the alleged offence” while judge Yalcin Hayret issued a warning to
Kerincsiz and those around him for repeatedly interfering in the case.
Kerincsiz claimed the judge himself had “lost his objectivity” and
asked for his removal on grounds that he was preventing intervention
on part of complainants but both his request for Hayret’s removal
and to be accepted as a complainant were turned down.
Dink: I have been made a deliberate target
More than defending themselves at court, Dink and his co-defendants
were forced to defend themselves from the intervening groups and
nationalists that turned up at the hearing.
“The marginal nationalists are clearly trying to make such cases
popular and are trying to produce a nationalist policy” Dink told
Bianet after the eventful hearing. “We should not fall into this trap”.
Dink added, “In all of the cases launched against me up till this
day, I not asked any support from inside or abroad, from the press
or politicians. Because this would mean falling into the trap of the
marginal nationalists”.
“I have been deliberately made a target. And they want to use and use
this target. By giving the impression that I have committed a crime
that I have not, the impression that I have insulted, they want to
isolate me in front of the Turkish society. At least those who know
how to read and who understand are standing up against this”.
Engin: Lynching Justice
Aydýn Engin said, meanwhile, that justice itself was being lynched.
“A group led by Kerincsiz and his friends have attempted to lynch
justice” he said. “And in a big way they have succeeded”.
He added, “I have seen many trials but throwing coins and pencils at
us and defence lawyers by those who managed to enter the court room
as complainants is something I have seen for the first time.”
Engin argued that the conditions of a “fair trial” no longer existed in
the case noting, “we ourselves are being put on trial for influencing
a fair trial but in reality today the conditions of a fair trial have
been eliminated”.
Cetin: Influencing fair trial
Defence lawyer Fethiye Cetin explained that the Dink and co-defenders
case was launched on allegations of influencing justice and added,
“what has taken place today and what is being done in other trials
is influencing justice itself”.
“They are creating such an atmosphere that one cannot talk about a fair
trial. They are putting pressure on the defendants, the defence, the
judge and prosecutor. During the hearing they insulted the prosecutor”.
Cetin continued “the pressure is directed at the court. When they
wanted to be accepted as complainants they said the Turkish nation
is a complainant and we are watching”.
Trial under pressure
During the hearing itself a number of people around Kericsiz wanted
to be accepted as complainants to argue their cases but their appeals
were turned down and due to their behaviour they were repeatedly
warned by the judge. To the extent that, according to Cetin, the
judge was almost calling the police into the courtroom.
Defence lawyers themselves were threatened by the so-called complainant
group saying “we are watching you too” and when Yucel Sayman reacted
to them saying “you can’t threaten us” coins and pencils were hurled
at the defence from observer seats.
When the hearing came to an end a group gathered downstairs and
attacked the defendants, lawyers and observers. Two people were
physically hit and the defendants could only leave the building an
hour later under police escort.
Cinmen: Police were tolerant
Defence Layer Ergin Cinmen referred to the incident at the end of the
hearing as “short of a lynch” and said it “reflected the intolerance
to freedom of expression in Turkey”.
“The number [of protestors] is small but because they are extremely
fanatic, it is a mass that can show itself. Security forces on the
other hand are incredibly tolerant to them. Two people were hit by
fists during the tumult. If they had the opportunity they would have
attacked the lawyers”
Case adjourned to 4 July
Following Tuesday’s hearing the court was adjourned to July 4.
Hrant Dink is on trial in this case for his article titled “Is
democracy going to be established with this penal clause?” while
Aydýn Engin is charged for his article “One should touch the justice
system”. Both defendants are charged under Turkish Penal Code article
288 for attempting to influence fair justice.
Dink, Engin and Arat Dink refuted the charges in the hearing and
maintained they had committed no offence.
–Boundary_(ID_CzXjIa0Bov58kOjd3e9kDg)–

SENIOR OFFICIALS OF OSCE MG CO-CHAIRING COUNTRIES TO ASSEMBLE IN BAKU
Author: R.Abdullayev
TREND, Azerbaijan
May 17 2006
On 24 May the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Karasin will
pay a visit to Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Trend.
The two-day visit will focus on the situation with the resolution of
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Along with Karasin, the Director of the French Foreign Institute for
political issues, Stanislav D’Labule and US Assistant Secretary of
State, Daniel Fried.
They will be accompanied by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Russian
Ambassador Yuriy Merzlyakov, French Ambassador Bernard Fassie and US
Ambassador Steven Mann.
Earlier Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian announced that the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will visit Armenia on 25-26 May.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WORK IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2006 INCREASES BY 41.1% ON SAME PERIOD OF LAST YEAR
Noyan Tapan
May 17 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. The total amount of geological
surveys conducted in Armenia in January-March 2006 made 28.8 mln
drams (about 64 thousand USD) or by 41.1% more than in the same
period of 2005. According to the RA National Statistical Service,
the amount of geological survey work in January-March 2006 exceeded
36fold the respective index of 2003. In the first quarter of 2006,
2.6 mln drams was collected in VAT for the geoligical survey work,
or by 8.3% more than in the same period of 2005, 26 times as much as
during the first three months of 2003.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO IRAN, A NEW CHAPTER IN RELATIONS
Fars News Agency, Iran
May 17 2006
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Armenian Energy Minister Tuesday met
with Iranian Foreign Minister and discussed avenues available for
consolidation of the two countries’ ties.
A statement released by the Foreign Ministry’s Information and
Press Bureau said that during the meeting, Mottaki noted the common
interests shared by the two states and their profound relations and
stated that the visit to Iran by the Armenian Energy Minister could
pave the way for future agreements in the two countries’ 6th joint
commission meeting.
Noting the necessity for promoting the two countries’ relations,
the Iranian Minister underlined that the two sides should study new
ideas and grounds of cooperation very actively.
He also stated that the two countries should prepare the grounds
required for the promotion of relations through cooperation in areas
of road communication, tunnel excavation, railroad, activation of
private companies, providing more business facilities, reducing trade
risks and facilitating of exchanges.
Mottaki said that the two states’ cooperation could reach a desirable
level through upgrading of the existing trade balance, adding that
Iran and Armenia should build more and more capacities.
For his part, Armenian Energy Minister Armen Mousisian expressed
pleasure with the performance of the two countries’ joint commissions
and welcomed the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s taking up of the
responsibility of the said commissions.
“In light of the two countries’ profound ties, we have succeeded in
implementing all the approvals of the joint commission,” he said.
Viewing exchange of visits by the two countries’ officials significant,
he said that the upcoming visit to Tehran by the Armenian president
could open a new chapter in the two states’ interactions.
Mousisian further stated that talks by the two countries about
construction of the gas pipeline project, exchange of electricity and
construction of new link roads could serve to be a turning point in
mutual cooperation.