41 BODIES OF BLACK SEA PLANE CRASH VICTIMS IDENTIFIED AS RUSSIA, ARMENIA MARK DAY OF MOURNING
AP Worldstream
May 05, 2006
Forty-one of the 53 bodies pulled from the Black Sea after an Armenian
airliner crash have been identified, Russian Transport Minister Igor
Levitin said Friday, as Russia and Armenia observed a day of mourning
for the 113 victims of the disaster.
A special diving vehicle was sent to the site of the crash, about six
kilometers (four miles) off the southern Russian resort of Sochi, to
try to pinpoint the remains of the plane’s fuselage on the sea floor.
Levitin said authorities were searching both in Russia and abroad
for equipment to raise the fuselage, where some bodies are thought
to be trapped.
“I want to say, for us the most important thing now is raising the
bodies, because we understand that for the victims’ relatives not
raising the bodies or fragments would be an even bigger tragedy,”
Levitin told reporters.
He had said Thursday that searchers had located a large part of the
plane’s fuselage that was emitting a radio signal believed to be from
a flight recorder, and he later said a signal from the plane’s other
“black box” had been detected.
Relatives gathered at the port of Sochi on Friday morning and boarded
a ship that was to sail to the crash site for a ceremony in which
mourners were to throw flowers into the sea. Flags were at half-staff
across Russia and Armenia, and churches were holding memorial services.
The Airbus A-320 plunged into the sea in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday
in heavy rain and poor visibility as it was approaching the airport in
Adler, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Sochi, a city wedged
between the sea and soaring, snowcapped mountains. Searchers found
wreckage spread over a wide area about six kilometers (3.5 miles)
offshore.

MONUMENT TO CRASH VICTIMS TO BE INAUGURATED IN SOCHI
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 18:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Friday Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin
told journalists that a monument to the A-320 crash victims will be
inaugurated in Sochi. “The decision was taken by the request of the
relatives of the killed. The Mayor promised to decide the site within
shortest terms. The Governor of the Krasnodar region supported the
initiative,” Levitin said. “This will be the place where the relatives
of the killed can come to revere their memory,” he added.

AZERI LEADER RULES OUT KARABAKH SOLUTION BEYOND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS
Sources:
ANS TV, Baku 5 May 06
Lider TV 5 May 06
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict should be resolved only on the basis of international legal
norms, private ANS TV reported on 5 May.
In his speech at the ninth summit of the Economic Cooperation
Organization in Baku on 5 May, Aliyev said: “Over 30 terrorist acts
have been committed against Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. Over 2,000
innocent people were killed. Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan
and its ethnic cleansing policy against the Azerbaijanis are major
obstacles to the development of regional cooperation today. As a result
of this policy, over one million Azerbaijani citizens were displaced
from their native land. We want to resolve the issue peacefully and
think that there are still opportunities for this.
Therefore, we should try out every opportunity today. At the same
time, the patience of the Azerbaijani people is not endless. The
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict can be settled only on the basis of
international legal principles. Armenia’s armed forces should withdraw
from Azerbaijani territories. Azerbaijanis should return to the land
of their ancestors. Justice should be restored. Any agreement beyond
this is impossible because the international law requires this.”
Private Lider TV quoted Ilham Aliyev as saying that it is important
to tighten security measures in the region and that the fight against
terrorism should unite “us with the world”. Aliyev said that Azerbaijan
wanted major regional projects to increase in number and attached
great importance to energy cooperation with Turkey and Iran.
The president also noted a 26-per-cent growth in economy, a 40-per-cent
increase in the GDP and the creation of 380,000 new jobs in the past
two years, the TV said.

LITHUANIA’S ADAMKUS URGES TO SOLVE ‘FROZEN CONFLICTS’ IN EASTERN EUROPE
Delfi website, Vilnius
3 May 06
[Unatributted report: “Lithuanian President Urges To Solve ‘Frozen
Conflicts,’ Which Hinder Democratic Changes”]
President Valdas Adamkus thinks that one of the biggest hardships
for countries that have chosen the path of democratic reforms is
‘frozen conflicts.’
“‘Frozen’ conflicts are obvious threats, which raise fear and impede
economic development in entire regions. It is necessary to find fast
and peaceful solutions to those conflicts, because the union of law and
democracy cannot coexist with conflicts and isolation,” Adamkus said
in his greeting to participants of the Forum of Intellectuals at the
Vilnius Conference, called Common Vision for a Common Neighbourhood.
According to the president, ‘frozen conflicts’ also impede cooperation
of activities in the region.
“It is hard to imagine that democracy would be established in regions
where there is no cooperation of institutions or if they lack the
essence of cooperation. The engine behind European and transatlantic
cooperation should be cooperation, not competition,” the Lithuanian
head of state noted.
According to him, this was proven by the experience of the Vilnius
10, which, in 2000, united the efforts of new European democracies
to join Euro-Atlantic institutions. Adamkus said that today all of
those countries are firmly determined to support the development of
regional cooperation and the ‘open door’ policy.
The president also stressed the necessity of raising the goals and
values of the state above narrow pragmatic interests.
“Today I would like to wish the countries that are striving for
European and transatlantic integration: set your domestic and foreign
policy goals and secure support of the majority for those goals,”
Adamkus noted.
After noting that today the Eastern Europe seems determined to be
integrated into European and transatlantic institutions, Adamkus said
that at the same time he saw “wavering, looking back, and attempts
to look for the alleged ‘third way,’ whatever that third way might be.”
“In the European Union we also hear voices talking about the alleged
‘burnout of expansion.’ Those voices see Europe as a fortress or a
closed club,” the Lithuanian head of state noted.
However, he said he did not think that it was necessary to concentrate
on these questions, because European cooperation in the future would
be cooperation between democracies trying to expand freedom to move,
to trade, and to exchange ideas.
The president said that globalization did not leave the option of
living in seclusion, and it would find ways of punishing those that
would decide to build walls against democracy. According to Adamkus,
non-democratic states would be forced to face globalization challenges
alone.
After admitting that sometimes it is difficult to balance interests
with values (although it was necessary to make sure that they were not
contradicting one another), Adamkus said that today it was necessary to
agree on an ambitious agenda – the East European neighbourhood vision.
“Vision that would obligate us to create united and free Europe,
which would be united by economic integration and common values. I
believe that your determination, good will, and effort will help us
achieve that,” Adamkus said, in addressing intellectuals.
Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia,
the United States, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, and
Ukraine are participating in the Intellectuals Forum, which is being
held in Vilnius on Wednesday. They are discussing democratic changes
of recent years and their future prospects in the Eastern Europe.

SEARCH WORKS SUSPENDED FOR PERIOD OF MOURNING EVENTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:10 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The search works at the crash site were suspended
for the period of mourning events.
Catamarans “Globus” and “Dagomys” will approach the place where
the plane crashed and the relatives of the killed, heads of the
governmental commissions, Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin
and Armenian Foreign Minister Serge Sargsyan will lower wreaths
on the water. Then they will be conveyed to Adler where a mourning
liturgy will be chanted for the commemoration of the killed. Services
for those killed in the crash will be held in the Armenian Churches
throughout the globe.

WREATHS TO BE LOWERED ON WATER AT CRASH SITE
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:13 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Two catamarans with the relatives of the killed
headed from the Sochi port to the crash site of the Armavia-owned
A-320 plane in the Black Sea. They will lower wreaths of the water to
commemorate the killed. Mourning events started in Sochi this morning
with the service held in all the Orthodox churches of the town.

CONTROL OFFICER KEPT HIDDEN FROM RELATIVES OF KILLED
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:23 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The airport administration keeps hidden the flying
control officers who were on duty on the Airbus crash night. The police
and FCS fear of lynch law. The control office, who was “leading” the
Yerevan-Sochi flight, was classified as secret the same morning. The
airport employees fear that the flying control officer can share the
fate of his Swiss counterpart Peter Nilson who was knifed near his
house by Ossetian Kaloyev who lost all his family in the crash.
The investigators have no claims to the control officers’ work. The
Russian law allows the pilots of foreign aircrafts to take decisions
on landing in complicated meteorological conditions. Pilot of the
crashed jet Grigory Grigoryan exercised the right unfortunately.
Meanwhile the relatives of the killed passengers blame the flying
control officers for the tragedy. “They could bar landing but did
not do it,” a man says.
Friends try to calm him down. “We should not look for those guilty. The
prosecution is dealing with it. Our duty is to pay our last respects
to our relatives, to bury them and bewail,” they say.
However, situation is tensed and any sparkle of anger can cause an
outburst. A FCS member said any contacts with the flying control
officers are prohibited. It was decided to give them a leave. I
suppose they are in a safe place now,” he said, reported Zhizn (Life)
Russian newspaper.

HUMAN FACTOR
Aram Abrahamian
Aravot.am
04 May 06
Human factor exists in every tragedy. In the crash of Armavia A320
airplane exists, too. But it isn’t right to detect constantly that
human factor and solve some problems by it.
For example, it can be a temptation to use this tragedy for squaring
accounts with “Armavia”. Frankly speaking I don’t cherish kindly
feelings to that Airline and its owner. But in this case it can be
proved that just ”Armavia” is responsible for the crash, for example
it has sent for flight an airplane out of order or without sufficient
quantity of fuel, or has trusted the airplane in non-professional
pilots. As there aren’t any sufficient facts for those accusations
all those conversations will be sounded cynically.
But the circumstance but we shouldn’t find for guilty people, doesn’t
mean that we shouldn’t examine the tragedy at all. Even the earthquake
in’88 which caused hundreds of thousands victims also cause a lot of
problems in connection with “human factor”. I say, “even”, because
it seems from the first sight that the blind disaster of earthquake
wasn’t ruled by people. Anyways, people at that time were speaking
very fairly how they were constructing buildings at the beginning of
80-s. And why the earthquakes of the same strength didn’t cause such
victims in Los Angeles and Japan.
Human factor in case of A320 airplane crash has played its role besides
the bad weather. For example, some specialists think that the airplane
fell into storm but the Russian weather forecasters affirm that there
was no storm. Why nobody felt mortal danger in the plane and nobody
didn’t wear life jacket.
Why did the airplane disappear from radars at 2’15 am, and the lifeboat
found the pieces of the plane only after two ours. Perhaps it was
possible to find human lives in those two ours. And the most important
problem who is guilty for the fact that the airplane appeared in bad
weather conditions? Disaster is disaster but all kind of tragedies
happen because of criminal mistake, indifference, non-professionalism
of the people.
Let’s hope that all these questions will get entire answers. But today,
let’s grieve with the relatives of the victims and share their grief.
–Boundary_(ID_bBWj//VLQsDqpSkZLOY+lw)–

STATE THAT CHOOSES MILITARY SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICT HAS NO RIGHT TO REMAIN COE MEMBER
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:39 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Five years is a term sufficient enough for the
assessment of the way Armenia has passed towards the European
integration, Mr. Jean-Louis Laurens, the Director General of Political
Affairs of the Council of Europe stated at a press conference in
Yerevan. In his words, there are positive outcomes these being the
consolidation of the state system, development of civic society and
Armenia’s engagement into the European Neighborhood Policy.
“The South Caucasus is a part of Europe and we are interested in
strengthening of democracy and promotion of reforms. Armenia has fixed
certain progress in the direction. The next step should be come the
bringing of the state legislation in correspondence with the reviewed
Constitution. First of all the Penal Code and the juridical system
should be reformed,” he remarked.
“The most important events both for Armenia and the CoE are the
forthcoming elections in 2007 and 2008.
It’s very important that the parliamentary and presidential election
corresponded to international standards. I cannot say what will be
next years but I hope the elections will be fair,” the CoE Director
General of Political Affairs said.
He also remarked that the conference dedicated to the 5th anniversary
of Armenia’s CoE membership is held at the time when Brussels launched
the final stage of negotiations on the Armenia-EU Individual Action
Plan within the European Neighborhood Policy. The way towards the
European Union is the same as that towards the Council of Europe, since
the tasks and objectives are the same. Armenia like the other states
should fulfill all the commitments undertaken. This refers to the
conflict settlement as well. A CoE member state that chooses military
settlement of any conflict has no right to remain CoE member. This rule
refers to all. The Council of Europe is a roof under which the states
are obliged to live in peace and friendship,” Lourens underscored.

GENETIC EXAMINATION HELD FOR IDENTIFYING KILLED
PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:48 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The genetic analysis for the identification of
the remains of those killed in the A-320 crash near Sochi has been
launched. Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin told reporters
that genetic data was taken from 21 relatives of the killed. The
analysis will take 3 days.