ARMENIA’S NOT BEING ADMITTED TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL NOT TO AFFECT COUNTRY’S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2006
Yerevan, May 16. /ARKA/. Armenia’s not being admitted to the UN
Human Rights Council cannot affect on the prospects of the country’s
European integration, Director of the Caucasian Institute of Mass
Media Alexander Iskandaryan told ARKA.
According to him, this process is not equal to the country’s European
integration. “European integration, which is the result of hard work
of many structures, is a process that will last for dozens of years
and produce certain results,” Iskandaryan said.
According to him, Armenia did not reach a desirable result in the
admission to the UN Human Rights Council for objective reasons.
“Particular persons in particular commissions failed to work well
together,” he said.
Iskandaryan also pointed out that the change of the RA Ombudsman
played an important role in this process as well.
On February 17, 2006, the Armenian Parliament elected new Ombudsman.
As a result of voting at the UN General Assembly on May 9, 2006,
Armenia was not admitted to the UN Human Rights Council. The country
did not receive enough votes to be admitted to the Group of East
European countries of the UN Human Rights Council. The group includes
Azerbaijan, Czec Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

EUROINTEGRATION FOR ARMENIA – PERSPECTIVE WITHOUT ALTERNATIVES: ARMENIAN SPEAKER
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2006
YEREVAN, May 16. /ARKA/. Eurointegration for Armenia is the
perspective without alternatives, Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan
told reporters.
According to him, being a full member of the Council of Europe,
Armenia should continue fulfilling her commitments before this
structure. “Our country should display more determination in
implementing ‘New Neighborhood’ EU program, as democracy and freedom
bring to a totally new perspective of development,” Bagdasaryan said.
He pointed out that the further intensification of democratic processes
and consistent inculcation of European values in the country will
result in development of economy and prosperity of Armenia.
“A freely developing economy and society can do much more than all
governmental programs taken together,” Bagdasaryan said and added
that Armenia should employ much more determination while moving
toward Eurointegration.
The third round of negotiations on the development of the EU-Armenia
Plan of Actions in the frameworks of the “New Neighborhood” EU policy
was held in Yerevan on 3 May.
The European movement of Armenia recognized Artur Bagdasaryan as the
best European of the year.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN COMPOSER EDWARD MIRZOYAN AWARDED LEONARDO DA VINCI MEDAL AND DIPLOMA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 12 2006
YEREVAN, May 10. /Novosti-Armenia/. Armenian outstanding composer,
public figure and pedagogue Edward Mirzoyan was awarded Leonardo da
Vinci Medal and Diploma. According to the Press Service of the RA
Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs Mirzoyan was honoured for his
great service to his people.
“The medal was awarded to Mirzoyan by the European Committee for
Public Awards and Prizes adjunct to the UNO, at the presentation of
the RA Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs and Armenian Peace Fund”,
press release notes.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TO EXPLAIN HIS PARTY DECISION TO QUIT RULING COALITION
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 12 2006
YEREVAN, May 12. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan is expected to explain why his Orinats Yerkir, one of
three governing parties, quits the ruling coalition.
Orinats Yerkir press service told ARKA News Agency that the party
board made this decision at its session held Thursday night.
The ruling coalition members are Armenian Republican Party, Orinats
Yerkir and Dashnaktsutyun.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MICROSOFT OPENS REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN ARMENIA
Interfax, Russia
May 16 2006
YEREVAN. May 16 (Interfax) – Microsoft opened an official
representative office in Armenia on Tuesday.
The company decided to open a representative office in Yerevan since
Armenia has high engineering and scientific potential, Vahe Torosian,
Microsoft vice president for the Middle East, Europe and Africa,
said at a press conference.
“Intellectual potential is very high in the region in general,
but particularly in Armenia,” he said, noting that Microsoft has a
representative office in Baku, but is not planning to open an office
in Tbilisi.
Torosian said the IT sector in Armenia has good prospects for
development and Microsoft’s arrival on the market could contribute
to it.
Microsoft plans to finish developing an Armenian version of the
Windows program by the end of the year, he said. At present, 100
company specialists, including Armenian ones, are working on programs
for Microsoft Windows Vista/Windows XP/MS Office, he said. Localized
versions of these programs will be in demand in Armenia and this is
another step towards developing information technologies, he said.

EUROVISION BRACED FOR HEAVY METAL
By Michael Osborn
BBC News entertainment reporter
BBC News, UK
May 16 2006
Thirty-seven countries are lining up for this year’s Eurovision Song
Contest in Athens on 20 May.
The 50-year-old musical event throws up a few surprises and a little
controversy every year.
An intimidating hard rock band, a multi-national pop group and the
return of a former winner are among this year’s ones to watch.
For their 40th attempt to win the Eurovision Song Contest, the Finnish
people have chosen metal act Lordi to represent them in Athens.
The five-piece will perform Hard Rock Hallelujah clad in gruesome
costumes and monstrous masks.
They refuse to appear in public out of costume, while their grotesque
make-up takes three hours to apply.
The band are so protective of their rock alter-egos, their real names
remain a secret.
Finland’s Lordi proclaim the coming of the “Arockalypse” with
their song.
They are known as Amen the unstoppable mummy, Enary the manipulative
valkyrie, Kalma the biker-zombie and Kita the alien manbeast.
Kita has the “combined strengths of all the beasts known to man”,
while he and the others are led by Lordi (The Lord).
With lyrics such as “wings on my back, I got horns on my head, my
fangs are sharp and my eyes are red, not quite an angel or the one
that fell, now choose to join us or go straight to hell,” Finland’s
choice has prompted some marginal controversy.
Lordi’s “Day of Rockoning” will be in the Eurovision semi-final on
18 May, where they hope to attract enough votes to propel them into
the grand final.
In 2005, Norway entered a glam rock act to make a splash at the
contest – they qualified for the final where they finished ninth.
[parts omiited]
ARMENIA – ANDRE The Eurovision family grows larger this year with
the inclusion of Armenia in the contest for the first time.
Andre has twice won best male singer at Armenia’s music awards
The former Soviet republic, which has land borders with Iran,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia, is taking its first Eurovision
campaign very seriously.
One of the country’s best-known singers, Andre, will be the first
performer on stage in the semi-final on 18 May.
Armenia’s official Eurovision website is urging its sizeable
communities living abroad to vote for their song and land them a
place in the grand final.

TED MUM ON PLAN FOR GREENWAY
By Jay Fitzgerald
Boston Herald General Economics Reporter
Boston Herald, MA
May 16 2006
The future design of a post-Big Dig park was thrown into question
yesterday after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and a key conservancy executive
refused to endorse a planned memorial for victims of the Armenian
genocide.
Local politicians yesterday officially broke ground on the $3.7
million Chinatown park that will anchor the southern end of the Rose
Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
Kennedy, whose late mother’s name will adorn the entire park system
stretching for more than a mile through the heart of downtown Boston,
hailed the Chinatown park as a major milestone toward creating a
“marvelous Greenway.”
But after a Chinatown event yesterday, the Massachusetts Democrat
refused to endorse or reject a proposal to build a memorial in another
section of the Greenway near Faneuil Hall that would honor Armenian
heritage – and possibly honor the Armenian victims of genocide.
“I certainly can’t make” a decision on it, he said, noting a
conservancy board will have to judge the merits of the park plan.
Edwin Schlossberg, a member of the Greenway Conservancy Board and
husband of Kennedy’s niece, Caroline, has expressed reservations
about singling out one ethnic group within the Greenway.
Nancy Brennan, the board’s executive director, said the Armenian
heritage park is “still in discussion.”

RATE OF DIVORCE AND AIDS GREW
Lragir.am
17 May 06
The National Statistics Service reports that in the first quarter of
2006 4100 marriages were registered compared with the 4164 marriages
in the first quarter of 2005. Unlike marriages, the rate of divorce
is 831 against 498 in the first quarter of 2005.
The cases of AIDS/HIV grew as well. If in March 2005 no cases of AIDS
were reported, and only three people contracted HIV, in March 2006
7 cases of AIDS and 8 cases of HIV were reported.
From: Baghdasarian

GOVERNMENT GRABS OPPOSITION’S VOTES
Lragir.am
17 May 06
Let the opposition not be happy about the secession of the Orinats
Yerkir Party from the coalition and government divide, said Vazgen
Manukyan, the leader of the National Democratic Union, May 16. He
says this case does not mean the system has changed. “Yes, if such
cases are many, they certainly influence the government, but the
system has not changed, it is the same,” says Vazgen Manukyan.
According to him, it is difficult to tell now if Orinats Yerkir is
opposition or not. Vazgen Manukyan says if it is not in the government,
it is opposition, but everything depends on their activities. The
leader of the National Democratic Union says the place of this party
in the opposition will be determined by the next steps of the Orinats
Yerkir Party, emphasizing that there is not a question of accepting
or rejecting.
“If the places in the government are limited, the places of the
opposition are not limited. Therefore anyone can find their place in
the opposition and there are no guards like in the government, there
are no chiefs to decide who is going to be in this wing or that wing.
Arthur Baghdasaryan is still young and he has not received blows.
After a blow a person either breaks down or becomes stronger. Life will
show whether he will be able to find his place in the opposition. But
this is the problem that he must solve,” says Vazgen Manukyan.
Vazgen Manukyan is willing to cooperate with all the opposition forces,
if the goal of this cooperation is not going to be battle against a
person but development of a civil society in Armenia. The leader of
the National Democratic Union does not think that Arthur Baghdasaryan
is likely to win over the opposition’s votes. Vazgen Manukyan believes
that the government grabs the votes of the opposition, not this or that
opposition force. The leader of the National Democratic Union says
the entrance of new people into the opposition is free, and the more
people appear in the political sphere, the better. But Vazgen Manukyan
also says what we have is quite enough, all we have to do is choose.

PEOPLE’S DEPUTY WILL NOT JOIN COALITION
Lragir.am
17 May 06
Vahram Baghdasaryan, the secretary of the People’s Deputy Group of
the National Assembly, told out reporter that People’s Deputy is not
likely to replace the Orinats Yerkir Party in the coalition.
“It is not worth going in for such talks,” suggested Vahram
Baghdasaryan. “Let the coalition go on to work. What is the problem?”
Besides, Vahram Baghdasaryan mentioned that no one has been
negotiating with him for joining the coalition, and he has no idea
of such negotiations.
The Unites Labor Party is said to be the next potential candidate
for coalition.