ARSHAK SADOYAN BELIEVES WITHDRAWAL OF “ORINATS YERKIR” PARTY FROM
COALITION MAY HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT FOR ARMENIA
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The withdrawal of “Orinats Yerkir” party
from coalition may have also positive impact for Armenia. Arshak
Sadoyan, leader of “Faction of National Democrats” party, said this at
today’s press conference.
He said that the withdrawal of “Orinats Yerkir” from the coalition was
quite natural, as the coalition was shaped on artificial basis, as an
additional pro-governmental force. Certainly, other candidates for
this role came forward and clashes began within the coalition forces,
soon. Artur Baghdasarian, leader of “Orinats Yerkir” party, speaker of
RA National Assembly, became another victim in that clash.
At the same time, Sadoyan said that hardly pre-time parliamentary
elections will be held in Armenia. If the country manages to avoid
chain of resignation of high ranked officials, the next parliamentary
elections will be held in 2007. According to him, the most beneficial
variant for the development of the events in Armenia till the next
elections in 2007 would be the strengthening of the “People’s Deputy”
parliamentary group, including its admission into coalition. Most of
the group’s deputies are elected through the majority principle and
are aware of the current problems. “If I was asked who would I like to
see as the speaker of the parliament, I would offer a candidate from
the opposition, even my candidacy. But none will ask anything, as I am
a mere observer,” Sadoyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SESSION OF RULING COALITION BOARD COMPLETED IN ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S
RESIDENCE
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The session of the ruling coalition Board,
held in the residence of the Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan, was
completed several minutes ago. The leader of the “Orinats Yerkir”
party, the Parliament speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan, the representative
of the “Dashnaktsutiun” party’s Supreme Body, the Head of the
Parliament Commission for Foreign Affairs Armen Rustamyan, as well as
the Republican party’s leader, the country’s Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan participated in the session, it became known to the Arminfo
correspondent from the Parliament sources.
According to the source, the current situation in the “Orinats Yerkir”
party (OY) and in the ruling coalition was discussed at the
session. To be reminded, the OY party’s governing Board had made a
decision the day before about the party’s leaving the ruling
coalition, the resignation of the Parliament speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan and recall of his ministers from the government. Ten
deputies-businessmen have left the OY faction for the last several
days. The Minister of City Planning Aram Haroutiunyan also announced
today about his leaving the OY. The OY party explains the last
processes by pressure of the governmental circles upon the OY members
because-of Baghdasaryan’s rough speeches concerning foreign political
issues of NATO-European Union cooperation, as well as party’s
criticism of the 2001-2003 state property privatization program. It is
unknown yet what decisions the meeting participants made.

LPP LEADER: “ORINATS YERKIR” PARTY’S LEAVING THE RULING COALITION IS
RESULT OF GENOCIDE OF COUNTRY’S POLITICAL FIELD CARRIED OUT BY
AUTHORITIES
Yerevan, May 12. ArmInfo. The “Orinats Yerkir” party’s leaving the
Armenian ruling political coalition is a result of genocide of the
country’s political field carried out by the present authorities, the
leader of the Liberal-Progressive party Hovhannes Hovhannessyan told
ArmInfo correspondent. To be reminded, Hovhannessyan had been heading
the Parliament’s Constant Commission for Foreign Relations in
1999-2003.
According to Hovhannessyan, the “OY” party’s leaving the ruling
coalition is appropriate and expected. There was not a uniting idea in
the coalition except one of profit and money, Hovhannessyan
said. Having resigned, the Parliament speaker and the “OY” leader
Arthur Baghdasaryan made a right political step and all the members of
the “OY” faction, as well as the oppositional deputies have to lay
down the Parliament mandates together with him. This will create a
parliament crisis in the country, turning to a governmental one which
will cause serious internal political processes the country needs long
since, Hovhannessyan said.
Asked if the union or cooperation of the Liberal-Progressive party,
well-known by its westernized orientation, is possible with the same
westernized “Orinats Yerkir”, Hovhannessyan did not rule out
neither. However, he made a slip in speaking that the cooperation or
unification with the “OY” is possible only on the basis of a common
ideological platform. But it is ruled out on the basis of “common
money”, Hovhannessyan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONTROVERSIAL GENOCIDE BILL FAILS IN 1ST ROUND
The New Anatolian, Turkey
May 11 2006
A French Parliament sub-commission yesterday rejected a controversial
bill which aims to introduce imprisonment for questioning the Armenian
genocide claims. But the bill is still going to be discussed at the
general assembly next week.
During yesterday’s debates in the Law Commission, ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) deputies harshly criticized the bill, drawn
up by a group of socialist deputies. Alain Marsaud Lois and Michel
Piron from the UMP are opposed to the bill and Piron stressed that
trying to write history with laws would result in a discredited
“official history.”
After the debates, the commission made no changes to the bill and
rejected it by a majority.
However, according to the legal procedures of the French Parliament,
the bill is still going to be discussed at the general assembly next
Thursday. The majority of ruling UMP deputies are opposed to the bill,
but if they don’t participate in next week’s meeting, it’s expected
to be approved by the National Assembly. The UMP has announced that
there will be no group decision on the issue.
To become law, the bill also has to be passed also by the Parliament’s
upper chamber, the Senate. French sources say that if the Senate
doesn’t approve the draft in a year, it will become null and void as
there elections next year.
Ankara: Damaging relations in no one’s interests
The socialist deputies’ “genocide bill” has created a row between
France and Turkey, with Ankara recalling its ambassador to France
for discussions to show its uneasiness over the situation.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan said yesterday that
the French government is acting sensitively on the issue, adding that
the issue requires a process in which calm is maintained.
“Turkey would like French deputies not to approve the bill,” Tan said,
“We believe that it’s in no one’s interests to cause uneasiness
while we have great opportunities to further improve our deeply
rooted relations.”
Turks and Armenians are at odds over the genocide claims. The Armenian
diaspora claims that 1.5 million of their people were killed in Ottoman
Turkey around the time of World War I, and refer to the events as a
“genocide.”
Turkey, however, says there were mutual killings by Armenian and
Muslim groups during civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

FRENCH “LIBERATION” PUBLISHES LETTER OF PROTEST FROM TURKISH INTELLECTUALS
Hurriyet, Turkey
May 11 2006
A group of 9 well-known Turkish intellectuals co-wrote a letter of
protest against the bill to be considered in the French Parliament
next week which would, if passed, mandate prison sentences for people
publicly denying Armenian genocide claims.
The letter was published in yesterday’s edition of the French
newspaper “Liberation,” and warns French people of the repurcussions
from possible passage of the drafted bill, which is to be debated in
parliament on May 18.
A portion of the letter, which was written by Murat Belge, Halil
Berktay, Elif Safak, Hrant Dink, Muge Gocek, Ahmet Insel, Etyen
Mahcupyan, Baskin Oran, and Ragip Zarakolu, says: “What is for
certain is that this law would make the process for those searching
for solutions to these claims even more difficult. And a resulting
paradox is that if France itself passes such a law, blocking free
debate on the Armenian genocide question, the result will create
similar or even stronger reactions in Turkey.”

TURKEY TRIED TO HEAD OFF PM’S VERDICT ON ‘GENOCIDE’
Brian Laghi
Globe and Mail, Canada
May 11 2006
The Prime Minister of Turkey sent Stephen Harper a letter last month
asking him to not characterize the mass killing of Armenians in the
early 1900s as a genocide and instead support an academic inquiry
into the matter.
One day later, Mr. Harper went ahead with the statement, sparking a
diplomatic contretemps that led to the recall of Turkey’s ambassador
to Canada and the country’s decision to withdraw from a military
exercise in Alberta.
The Turkish letter, an unofficial translation of which was obtained
by The Globe and Mail, says that a push by the Armenian community
to have the mass killing of Armenians recognized as a genocide has
clouded Turkish-Canadian relations.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also asked that Mr. Harper instead
support a Turkish initiative to have scholars from Turkey and Armenia
study the matter and issue a report to the international community.
“As you know, the allegation of ‘genocide’ is a sensitive issue for
both the Turkish people and Turkish Governments,” the letter said.
“In fact, the events that took place in 1915 constitute a period
which historians consider as contentious.”
The letter is being made public after Turkey’s decisions this week
to recall its ambassador for consultations and to pull out of an
international military exercise that is to begin in Cold Lake, Alta.,
next week. Turkey is upset about Mr. Harper’s affirmation of a free
vote of Parliament two years ago in which a majority of MPs voted to
condemn the brutal treatment of the Armenians. However, the cabinet
of the day voted against the motion and it was considered non-binding.
About two dozen other countries have recognized the deaths of 1.5
million Armenians as a genocide. Turkey maintains the deaths were
caused by civil strife, diseases and famine during the turmoil of
the First World War while Armenia was under Turkish Ottoman control.
The Turkish Prime Minister’s letter was dated April 18.
The letter said that although Armenia has yet to respond positively
to Turkey’s proposal for an academic study, Mr. Erdogan hoped that
Mr. Harper would support the idea.
He said that while bonds between Canada and Turkey have deepened —
including co-operation on stabilizing Afghanistan — “the Armenian
lobby in your country has not given up its intentions to create
problems in Turkish-Canadian relations.”
Turkish authorities confirmed yesterday there had been
correspondence. They would not say how Canadian officials replied,
if at all, although government sources said yesterday that officials
informed the Turkish embassy in advance of their plans.
Conservative sources have said that the move is not an effort to win
the votes of the Armenian diaspora in Canada, of whom there are about
70,000. Rather, the issue is seen by many in the Conservative caucus
as a historic wrong.
Conservative MP Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to Mr. Harper,
and a long-time supporter of the Armenian viewpoint, said yesterday
that the Prime Minister was simply acknowledging the House of
Commons vote.
“I think that personally the Parliament was right to take the decision
and the Prime Minister had no option but to recognize that decision,”
Mr. Kenney said. “I’m hopeful that the government of Turkey will have
as much respect for the decisions of the Parliament of Canada as our
government does.”
Mr. Kenney said the idea of having the two sides co-operate in a
study should not involve Canada.

RUSSIA TO PAY FAMILIES OF BLACK SEA AIR CRASH VICTIMS $3,700
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 11 2006
MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian government will pay 100,000
rubles ($3,700) to the families of 113 people killed in a Black Sea
air crash a week ago, the Russian health minister said Thursday.
An Airbus owned by Armenia’s Armavia airline crashed in stormy weather
near the Russian resort of Sochi on May 3.
On May 4, the head of Armavia said all passengers had been insured and
their families would receive $20,000 each, and the Armenian government
promised compensation worth $3,400.

OFFERS FROM ARMENIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION ARE NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY – AFFA
Author: Z.Safarov
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
May 11 2006
“Offers from Armenian Football Federation (AFF) on elimination
matches between the two national teams may not be taken seriously,
reportedly said Fuad Asadov, Secretary General of AFFA, commenting
the forthcoming meeting among Azeri, Armenian delegations and UEFA
for possible match on neutral field.
Asadov said also he is skeptic with AFF’s assurances on ensuring
security to Azeri national team in case they arrive in Yerevan.
Alongside, he suggested organizing a match in some third country
quite possible. “We have an example of Israeli team that often plays
outside their homeland”, – Secretary General said.

TOTAL HISTORY AND FRANCE’S FUTURE
Cem Oguz
New Anatolian, Turkey
May 11 2006
Late last night I finished a book by Emine Caykara that contains an
interview of nearly 500 pages with Professor Halil Inalcik. In several
parts of the interview, Inalcik, the doyen of Ottoman studies who
used to teach me during my short academic career as well, asserted
the importance of the concept of “total history.”
Towards the end of the interview, Professor Inalcik points out
a fundamental dilemma faced by historiography: While the natural
sciences, such as mathematics, offer a kid of even the age of 12 the
opportunity to show genius, the social sciences, first and foremost
history, require long-term dedication as well as experience supported
by fastidiousness. Without knowing the fundamental elements and marking
points of history one would lose the focus. This, in turn, demands
knowledge about each aspect of history or the notion of total history.
The concept of total history is the most significant contribution
of the “Ecole des Annales” to modern-day historiography. Born of the
well-known French scholarly journal “Annales d’Histoire Economique et
Sociale,” the Ecole des Annales was founded in 1929 by prominent French
historians Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. However, the most popular name
among those from annales has been Fernand Braudel, the author of “The
Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II.”
Previously, traditional history was built around the acts and
facts of the leading personalities of the time. The Annales
school, in turn, proposed a shift in the historian’s focus and a
global vision of history, particularly emphasizing the medium- and
long-term evolution of societies and civilizations. Its followers
pioneered a new and stimulating approach to the study of historical
structures over events. Committed to broadening the range of history,
they incorporated the other humanities, ranging from economics and
sociology to linguistics and geography, into historical study. Over
time mentalities (attitudes) became their focus as well.
The influence of the Ecole des Annales soon spread well beyond the
borders of France, and Turkish historians, too, were not immune to its
rapidly growing attraction. It was first Omer Lutfi Barkan who applied
annales principles to his works. He then was followed by Inalcik.
The Annales school is actually the world-renowned foundation on
which modern-day French historiography is grounded. It is in this
regard that French historians’ outspoken opposition against political
involvement in history and historic events over the last two years
deserves particular appreciation. Nevertheless, the reason I’ve touched
on it is not because I naively believe that praising motivated by a
narrow opportunism will help strengthen the Turkish standpoint. It
is rather related to my desire to conduct a little projection into
France’s future.
As some French themselves admit, France, once the worldwide leading
promoter of universal values, is a rapidly decaying power in this
new global era. Paradoxically, the political elite rather seem to be
merely mourning this self-imposed isolation. What I am particularly
wondering about, however, is whether this gradual transformation,
or the “long duree” as Braudel described it, is simply the outcome of
some French politicians’ narrow-mindedness or lack of vision. It is,
of course, the French people that will judge their politicians.
However, I humbly need to warn them that if this judgment is late in
coming, sooner or later they themselves won’t be able to escape from
the transformation that has affected their politicians.
As far as some French politicians’ attitude towards the Armenian
allegations is concerned, there remains nothing left to say except to
assert what my dear professor, Halil Inalcik, used to repeat during
his lectures: “Understanding is forgiving.”
How otherwise will we Turks be able to tolerate certain French
politicians, with their longings to be geniuses in the field of
history at age 12?

3 WEEKS TO FIND BLACK BOXES AT BLACK SEA CRASH SITE
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 11 2006
SOCHI, May 11 (RIA Novosti) – Recovery teams have about three weeks to
locate and retrieve the flight data recorders of an Armenian airliner
that crashed last week killing 113 people, a Russian transportation
official said Thursday.
The black boxes are seen as the key to understanding why the Airbus
plunged into the Black Sea in stormy weather six kilometers (3.7 miles)
from the Russian coast early on the morning of May 3.
“We have a time limit, about 30 days from the moment of the crash,”
said Alexander Davydenko, who is coordinating the operation to locate
the black boxes.
He added that batteries of the black boxes, which are thought to be
a depth of 400-450 meters (1,300- 1,470 feet), would run down in 30
days. Earlier wreckage had been reported at 680 meters (2,230ft).
Vladimir Yerygin, who oversees technological support for the
operation to recover the recorders, said earlier that specialists from
Toulouse-based Airbus were planning to use advanced hydroacoustic
equipment to find the precise location of the black boxes and later
recover them using a deep-sea vehicle.
He said the main group of French experts, which left the port of Sochi
Wednesday morning, would set up a data-processing center on board one
ship, and another ship with the Kalmar deep-sea craft would continue
scanning the seabed for parts of the A-320.