TRADITIONAL MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT OF VAHIK LEVONIAN HELD IN VAYOTS DZOR
Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006
YEGHEGNADZOR, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. A memorial volley-ball
tournament of Soviet Union hero Vahik Levonian was held on May 4-9 in
Yeghegnadzor. The tournament was held already for the third year after
almost a 20-year interval on the initiative of the hero’s relatives
and with the assistance of Vayots Dzor administration. Teams of 9
communities and the military unit dislocated in the region competed
this time. The solemn ceremony of closing the memorial tournament
took place on May 9 in Arpi, at the secondary school named after
V.Levonian. The Yeghegnadzor team was recognized the winner of the
tournament and won the challenge cup for the third time. The teams
of Arpi nd Chiva took the second and third places, respectively.

ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI FOOTBALL FEDERATIONS’ HEADS TO MEET ON MAY 12 IN NYON
Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The meeting of the Football Federations
delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan to take place in the UEFA office
in Nyon, Switzerland, on May 12. FFA Chairman Ruben Hayrapetian,
FFA Executive Director Armen Minasian and Alexan Haroutiunian, the RA
President’s and RA Government’s authorized representative, the Council
Chairman of the Public Television and Radio of Armenia will participate
in the meeting from Armenia. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Press
Secretariate of the Football Federation of Armenia, Azerbaijan will
participate in the meeting with a similar format as well.
UEFA Executive Committee members Per Ravn Omdal and Mathieu Sprengers
as well as UEFA Deputy Chief Executive Markus Studer will participate
in the meeting from the UEFA.

SAMVEL DARBINIAN APPOINTED RA NATIONAL TEAM’S ACTING MAIN TRAINER
Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. By FFA Chairman Ruben Hairapetian’s
decree, Samvel Darbinian was appointed the acting main trainer of the
National Team of Armenia. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the Press
Secretariate of the Football Federation of Armenia, S.Darbinian headed
the National Team of Armenia in 1995-1996 as well.

YOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM OF ARMENIA TO LEAVE FOR SAN MARINO ON MAY 15
Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. The Youth Football Team of Armenia
headed by trainer Samvel Petrosian will leave for San Marino on May
15 to participate the San Marino-Armenia meeting of the qualification
stage of the Europe Championship of up to 21 years old. FFA Executive
Committee member Artak Mnatsakanian will head the FFA delegation. As
Noyan Tapan was informed by the Press Secretariate of the Football
Federation of Armenia, Armen Gyulbudaghiants, the main trainer of
the National Team of up to 19 years old people of Armenia and Arsen
Chilingarian, the main trainer of the National Team of up to 17 years
old young men will leave for San Marino with the Youth Team of Armenia.

TURKEY IN GENOCIDE DISPUTE WITH NATO ALLIES
By Amberin Zaman
Voice of America
May 11 2006
Turkey has pulled out of a NATO military exercise in Canada and is
considering sanctions against France for supporting Armenians who
want the mass slaughter of their kin by Ottoman-Turk forces during
and after World War I recognized as genocide.
Members of Turkey’s Workers’ Party hold banners reading ‘The genocide
lie is an American game’. A senior Turkish foreign ministry official
confirmed Turkey would not be participating in an air force training
exercise in Canada.
Turkey’s withdrawal is the latest in a series of moves aimed at
conveying Ankara’s anger over Canadian policy.
Turkey recalled its ambassador last week after Canada’s prime minister,
Stephen Harper, characterized the mass slaughter of hundreds of
thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide.
Mr. Harper’s comments came as the French parliament prepares to debate
a bill that would criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide and
the Jewish Holocaust following World War II.
Critics of the bill, which was introduced by the Socialist bloc, say
it is calculated to win votes from France’s 800,000 strong Armenian
community in elections scheduled for next year. The French move has
broader ramifications as France is one of the most powerful members
of the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join.
Turkey has always denied that a genocide took place, but there are
mounting calls from within the European Union to change its policy of
denial as a condition for membership. Many Turks see such pressure as
further evidence that the European Union does not want a poor Muslim
country within its ranks.
But despite the Ankara government’s tough rhetoric, including veiled
threats of economic sanctions against France, public debate on the
fate of the Ottoman Armenians is growing in Turkey. Some prominent
Turkish academics have gone as far as to say that the mass killings
did amount to genocide.
But even these intellectuals say they are opposed to France’s efforts
to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide. They argue that such
laws can only help to vindicate similar laws in Turkey that penalize
Turks who dare to utter the word genocide in discussions of the fate
of the Armenians after World War I.

RUSSIAN POLITICAL ANALYST: EUROPEAN EXPANSION IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT RECOGNIZING LESSONS OF THE PAST
Regnum, Russia
May 11 2006
“European expansion, as well as developing cooperation within
CIS framework are impossible without recognizing lessons of the
past. It concerns not just the Armenian Genocide in 1915, but all
the consequences it caused for states, including legal, political and
moral ones,” chair of comparative politics department of Moscow State
Institute of International relations of Foreign Affairs Ministry of
the Russian Federation (MGIMO), Mikhail Ilyin, PhD, has said to a
REGNUM correspondent.
According to the analyst, the issue of recognizing the Armenian
Genocide in 1915 is settled for Russian society “naturally and
clear.” “Our ancestry as long ago as during World War I expressed
their solidarity with the Armenian people, and for me as a Russian,
this issue is clear as well.” “As for international recognition, I
am sure, without final and overall settlement of the issue, certain
countries, certain nations and the international community will face
difficulties in their movement forward,” the analyst is sure.
Earlier, eleven years ago, Russia officially recognized the Armenian
Genocide. The fact of the Armenian Genocide was recognized by many
countries, including France, Uruguay, lower chamber of the Italian
parliament, several US states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus,
Argentina, Belgium, Wales, Swiss National Council, House of Commons
of the Canadian Parliament and Seym of Poland.

NOYEMBERIAN POLICEMEN POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED WITH MEDALS “FOR HEROIC DEED”
Noyan Tapan
May 11 2006
NOYEMBERIAN, MAY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. A memory event dedicated to the
15th anniversary of martyrdom of 12 policemen and 2 drivers of the
Noyemberian Internal Affairs Departmet took place in Noyemberian on
May 6. They died in 1991 in the forest of Voskepar, during the the
Soviet Armed Forces’ attack. Deputy Chief Officer of the RA Police
Hovhannes Hunanian made public the RA Police Chief Officer’s decree
about awarding policemen from Noyemberian died while defending the
border of the Fatherland with the medal “For Heroic Deed.” Financial
aids were given to the martyrs’ relatives by the Tavush Governor’s
Office, Noyemberian Mayor’s Office and “Bargavaj Hayastan” (Prospering
Armenia) party.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN SPEAKER READY TO SEND IN HIS RESIGNATION?
Regnum, Russia
May 11 2006
“It will be correct, if Artur Bagdassaryan (Speaker of the Armenian
Parliament, leader of the Orinats Yerkir Party – REGNUM) resigns,
and the party leaves the coalition,” Secretary of the Orinats Yerkir
faction Egine Bisharyan has told the press on Thursday.
According to her, members of the party and Bagdassaryan agree to this
position. At the same time, she noted that the party was prepared for
action, and no matter, whether the political force is represented
in the parliament by 13, 7 or 3 MPs, it will act in an efficient
and coordinated way. According to Bisharyan, leaving the party by
MPs-businessmen was a political action taken “from above.”
It is worth mentioning that for the recent five days five
MPs-businessmen left the Orinats Yerkir faction.

A FAMILY DYNASTY AT COLDWELL BANKER IN PASADENA
By Katina Dunn
Arcadia Weekly, CA
May 11 2006
Mabel Agojian Besides being a realtor and mom, Agojian is also a
new grandmother, or Medz Mama – which means Big Mama in the Armenian
language.
For Mother’s Day this weekend, Agojian will wait and hear what deal
her children have in mind for her. “I am expecting my kids to come
up with a great proposal,” she said.
It is the dream of many mothers to work alongside their children,
and Mabel Agojian is one lucky mom to work with her two. All three
are realtors in the same Coldwell Banker office. “It was so different
when we were home and I was the boss and they were the kids,” said
Agojian. “Now I have to accept that we are equals. I’ve learned if
parents work with their kids, the parents just have to listen to them
more,” she said.
“It’s a big switch,” said Agojian.
When her children were little they watched her work on the telephone
and make deals and became inspired. “I think they admired the
business,” she said. Her own mother, Angele, taught her to “never
give up” which she says is valuable advice for selling real estate,
and a message she imparts to her own kids. “Her name means angel and my
mother was really an angel. Everybody’s mother is their angel, right?”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAGHDASARIAN POISED TO RESIGN, QUIT ARMENIAN COALITION
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 11 2006
Artur Baghdasarian signaled on Thursday his intention to resign as
speaker of Armenia’s parliament and pull his Orinats Yerkir party out
of the governing coalition as its parliamentary faction continued to
shrink under apparent government pressure.
Three more wealthy lawmakers defected from Orinats Yerkir late
Wednesday and early Thursday, reducing to 11 the number of parliament
seats controlled by Baghdasarian. His party had 20 seats as recently
as last month, boasting the second largest faction in the 131-member
National Assembly.
The wave of defections, which began last week, is reportedly part
of President Robert Kocharian’s efforts to force Orinats Yerkir out
of the ruling coalition. Government sources have said Kocharian has
lost patience with its 37-year-old leader’s regular and embarrassing
attacks on his cabinet.
According to Heghine Bisharian, a senior Orinats Yerkir lawmaker
who remains loyal to Baghdasarian, the party’s continued presence in
government is becoming meaningless in such circumstances. “I personally
am in favor of his resignation and our departure from the coalition,”
she told a news conference.
“The entire Orinats Yerkir Party is of the same opinion,” said
Bisharian. Asked whether Baghdasarian shares that opinion, she replied:
“I think he will.”
Baghdasarian, who has been seen in the past as one of Kocharian’s
possible handpicked successors, has declined to publicly comment on
the situation.
Bisharian found it “a bit too early to speculate” about the possibility
of Orinats Yerkir joining the opposition ranks but made no secret of
its critical assessment of the state of affairs in Armenia. “Go to
the regions, enter villages and look at their plight.
You’ll see whether the [government] policies of the last 10-15 years
have changed anything in our life,” she said, echoing statements
regularly made by opposition leaders.
Bisharian also downplayed the damage inflicted on her party by the
defections. “Orinats Yerkir has more than 62,000 members and I think
the departure of a dozen of them won’t make any difference for the
party,” she claimed.
All of the defectors are wealthy businessmen with close government
connections, a necessary condition for engaging in large-scale
economic activity in Armenia. Yet another Orinats Yerkir deputy,
Tigran Yeganian, was expected to follow their example later on
Thursday. Yeganian, 28, is the youngest member of the National
Assembly. His father is the owner of a big and expensive restaurant
near Yerevan which is popular with senior government officials.
Bisharian stopped short of explicitly blaming the defections on
Kocharian. But she did deplore the strong dependence of Armenian
businessmen on the government. “Regardless of whether a businessman
is a member of Orinats Yerkir, a Republican or a Dashnak, they are
facing this danger [of losing their assets],” she said. “This could
happen to any political force and businessman.”
(Photolur photo: Oritanst Yerkir deputies attending a parliament
session.)