ROLE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS DISCUSSED AT OSCE-SUPPORTED SEMINAR IN YEREVAN
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

June 19 2006
YEREVAN, 19 June 2006 – A two-day seminar on promoting small and
medium entrepreneurship (SME) for sustainable development, took place
in Yerevan on 17 and 18 June.
The event, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Armenian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the “Businesswomen Support
Centre” Foundation, focused on key problem areas for the development
of women’s entrepreneurship in Armenia, including tax legislation,
modern marketing techniques, and computer technologies.
An exhibition of goods and services, from enterprises run by women,
which was being held on the sidelines of the seminar, helped exchange
experiences and find new business partners.
“A business environment that allows start-up entrepreneurs to fulfill
their rights and freedoms is a precondition for SME development,”
said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office. “We
believe that this discussion will help identify existing problems
and find common solutions.”
Lilia Gevorgyan, the President of the “Businesswomen Support Centre”
Foundation, thanked the OSCE Office for organizing the discussion and
presentation, adding: “The promotion of a balanced and non-stereotyped
image of businesswomen as equal players in the country’s economic
growth is a difficult task, and events like this are of great help.”
The OSCE Office in Yerevan encourages SME development in Armenia by
assisting the authorities in formulating and implementing State policy,
improving the legislative framework and encouraging business start-up
development in the regions.

OIC FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEETING OPEN IN BAKU
IRNA, Iran
June 19 2006
The 33rd meeting of Foreign Ministers of Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) opened here on Monday with an inaugural speech by
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
Foreign ministers of 51 member states are attending the meeting.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is heeding the Iranian
delegation to Baku.
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan Republic advocates solidarity and close
relations among Islamic nations and hoped that the meeting would
serve to reinforce Muslim solidarity.
The Azeri president also called for strengthening of OIC and said
that solidarity among the member states would be effective for OIC
in adopting position on various international issues.
Aliyev expressed concern that certain states are attributing terrorist
actions to Islam adding that Islam is religion of peace, tolerance
and it has nothing to do with terrorism.
“It is major concern that certain states are stirring up Islamophobia
in the modern world which is the era of dialogue of civilizations. It
is unfortunate that propaganda campaign is underway against Muslims
and religious discrimination has been escalated in Western states.”
Azeri president called on OIC to take strong action against
discriminations certain states are perpetrating against Muslims.
He said that progress and development in the region need peace and
tranquility thanking the Islamic governments for supporting Azerbaijan
in the Karabakh conflict.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said that Islamic nations
are passing a very critical period and called on Muslim nations to
usher in a historical opportunity to enforce goals of Islam.
He expressed concern about the human tragedy in Palestine, the
Philippines and the crisis being escalated over Iranian nuclear
program.
He deplored Israel actions for the ongoing human tragedy against
defenseless Palestinians and said that OIC condemns Israel for
occupying Palestinian territories and expelling Palestinians from
their homeland.
Ihsanoglu also condemned use of force and abduction in Iraq and said
the OIC demands immediate resolution of Iraqi crisis.
The secretary general said that OIC has decided to open a
representative office in Baghdad soon.
OIC secretary general called for immediate end to crisis in Kashmir,
Karabakh, the Philippines, and conflict in Somalia.
He expressed outrage at desecration of the Islamic sanctities and
blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in certain Western publications
and said that OIC has embarked on propagation of Islamic teachings
in Western states to neutralize such anti-Islam scenario.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and
the Council of Europe are taking part in the meeting as observers.

HOVANNISIAN MULLS ELECTION BLOC WITH PRO-WESTERN OPPOSITIONISTS
By Astghik Bedevian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 19 2006
Armenia’s U.S.-born former Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian is
negotiating with leaders of three pro-Western opposition parties on the
possibility of forming an alliance ahead of next year’s parliamentary
election, an aide confirmed on Saturday.
Vartan Khachatrian, a senior member of Hovannisian’s Zharangutyun
(Heritage) party, said the ongoing talks are involving former
parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian’s Orinats Yerkir party, Aram
Sarkisian’s Hanrapetutyun as well as a smaller group called the
Liberal Progressive Party.
All three opposition forces favor Armenia’s eventual withdrawal from
the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and accession
to NATO. Baghdasarian revealed his pro-Western orientation in an April
interview with a leading German newspaper which precipitated Orinats
Yerkir’s removal from President Robert Kocharian’s governing coalition.
The new opposition alliance would lead to a significant realignment
in the Armenian political arena and would be a major player in the
2007 election. Baghdasarian’s resignation as parliament speaker
and his pullout from the governing coalition was welcomed by both
Zharangutyun and Hanrapetutyun. The latter is the most radical of
Armenian parties opposed to Kocharian, and it remains to be seen if
the extremely cautious ex-speaker will agree to join forces with it.
“We have always been ready to unite the [opposition] field to give
hope to the Armenian people,” said Khachatrian.
But Khachatrian made it clear that Zharangutyun may well contest the
parliamentary polls on its own, arguing that Hovannisian is popular
enough to earn his party seats in the National Assembly. He said a
recent U.S.-funded opinion poll found that 74 percent of Armenians
think well of the former foreign minister.
Khachatrian also presented Zharangutyun’s controversial ouster from
its government-owned offices in Yerevan as an indication that the
Armenian authorities see a serious threat to their hold on power
emanating from Hovannisian. His supporters believe that this was also
the reason why he had been controversially barred from standing in
the last presidential election.
(Photolur photo: Raffi Hovannisian.)

ARMENIAN PLANE ‘DID NOT MALFUNCTION BEFORE CRASH’
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
June 19 2006
The Armenian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea last month
killing all 113 people aboard was intact, had its engines operating
normally and had enough fuel to land, a Russian commission said Monday.
The Armavia Airbus A-320 was under manual control of its pilots up to
the moment of the May 3 pre-dawn catastrophe near the Russian port of
Sochi, the Transport Ministry commission investigating the disaster
said in a statement. The commission, which based its conclusions
after analyzing the plane’s “black box” flight recorders, did not
attribute blame for the crash.
Prosecutors have dismissed the possibility that terrorists brought
the plane down, and officials point to rough weather or pilot error
as the likely cause. Armavia officials have suggested that air traffic
controllers were at least partly to blame, giving the pilots improper
instructions.
The commission said it planned further analysis of the recorders and
computer modeling to determine a cause. The flight was en route to
Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

INITIAL ARMAVIA AIRBUS A320 CRASH PROBE RULES OUT FUEL AND ENGINE PROBLEMS
By David Kaminski-Morrow in London
Flight International
June 19 2006
Preliminary analysis of the flight-data recorder from the Armavia
Airbus A320 that crashed into the Black Sea last month has ruled out
fuel exhaustion and engine problems as contributing to the accident.
Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) has also disclosed that,
during the last minute, the aircraft was switched into flight mode in
which the flight director was active but the autopilot was disengaged.
MAK says that the flight-data recorder contained 26h20min of
information on eight flights conducted between 30 April and the crash
on 3 May, including the entire 1h26mins of the final one.
The jet had been attempting a second night-time approach to Sochi
Airport in Russia after a service from Armenian capital Yerevan.
Investigators studying the final flight have concluded that the
fuel on board was “sufficient for the safe completion of the flight”
and that the CFM International CFM56 powerplants “worked until the
moment of the aircraft’s impact with the surface of the water”.
MAK adds that the aircraft was not destroyed in mid-air.
Armavia flight U8 967 crashed after abandoning an initial approach
to Sochi Airport’s runway 06. None of the 113 occupants, comprising
105 passengers and eight crew members, survived.
06/06/19/Navigation/177/207312/Initial+Armavia+Air bus+A320+crash+probe+rules+out+fuel+and+engine.htm l

TRNC WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT FAIR POSITION OF AZERBAIJAN IN NK CONFLICT
Author: S.Agayeva
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 19 2006
Turkish Republic of North Cyprus will always support the fair position
of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Dervish Kamal Deniz,
minister of economiy and tourism of Cyprus, made such a statement on
June 19 in Baku within his participation at the 33rd session of the
Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC),
Trend reports.
“The head and people Azerbaijan have always been near us in our fair
fight, therefore we are very grateful for this,” told Deniz. We well
understand the difficulties facing Azerbaijan, and support Azerbaijan,
emphasized Cyprus minister.

FLIGHT DATA AND COMMUNICATION RECORDERS FAILED TO REVEAL SECRET OF A 320 CRASH NEAR SOCHI
Regnum, Russia
June 19 2006
Decoding transcripts of flight data recorder of A 320 plane that
crashed near the Black Sea coast on May 3, has not revealed the
tragedy’s causes. As REGNUM was informed at the Russian Transport
Ministry’s press office, as a result of last flight decoding it was
ascertained that the plane was not destroyed in the air. The plane’s
collision with water became fatal for it.
At present, complex analysis of all available recordings is
continuing. Flight stimulator is planned to be used to reveal the
cause of the crash.
It is worth reminding that the Armenian A 320 was flying from Yerevan
to Sochi on May 3. It fell into the Black Sea at a distance of only
6 km from the landing ground. 113 passengers were aboard; all of them
were killed.

ARMENIA NOT TO ENTER GUAM IN NEAR FUTURE, ARMENIAN FM SAYS
Interfax, Russia
June 19 2006
Kyiv, June 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Armenia is not planning to enter
the GUAM group of countries in the near future, Vartan Oskanian,
Armenian foreign minister has said.
“GUAM membership is not on the agenda at present,” he said at a joint
press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk in
Kyiv on Monday.
During Ukrainian-Armenian talks in Kyiv on Monday, the two countries
discussed the intensification of political contacts, Tarasiuk said.
He said the countries discussed preparation for a visit by the
Ukrainian premier to Armenia, and also a visit of Armenian President
Robert Kocharian to Ukraine.

DRP LEADER MET WITH EMPLOYEES OF FRENCH DEPARTMENT ON PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRANTS
Author: S.Ilhamgizi
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 19 2006
One June 19, chairman of Democratic Reforms Party (DRP) Asim
Mollazadeh met with Elsa Gadebski and Marie Recher, executives for
Eastern Europe and former USSR, French Department on Protection of
Refugees and Forced Migrants.
Trend reports with reference to the party’s press service that the
meeting was dedicated to discussion of Azeri-Armenian conflict,
refugees and forced migrants in Azerbaijan, social and political
situation in the country and Azerbaijan’s integration with Europe.
From: Baghdasarian

FM GUL ANTICIPATES OIC SUPPORT FOR TURKISH CYPRUS
By Cihan News Agency
Zaman, Turkey
June 19 2006
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has anticipated that the
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the body representing the
world’s Muslim countries, will endorse Turkey’s solution proposal
regarding the Cyprus problem.
Gul, who arrived in Baku on Monday to attend the OIC 33rd meeting of
foreign ministers, said that it was important to discuss the Cyprus
problem at the OIC meeting. “We have prepared a solution project. I
hope it will be accepted by the participating countries.”
The content of the proposal is not known but the Turkish proposal is
expected to call on OIC members countries to open direct trade with
Turkish Cyprus, which remains under international sanctions.
At a 2004 meeting of the OIC foreign ministers, member countries had
reached an agreement to improve ties with the Turkish Cypriots after
they had voted in favor of the UN-sponsored peace plan in April of
that year.
Minister Gul came together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
on Monday on the sidelines of the meeting.
Regarding the Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani lands of Upper
Karabag, Gul said that the OIC supports the Azerbaijani position.
“Occupied Azerbaijan lands should be returned to their Azerbaijani
owners.”
Gul is expected to come together with Iranian counterpart Manucohr
Muttaki later today.
The 33rd foreign ministers meeting of the Organization of Islamic
Conference kicked off in the Azeri capital Baku on Monday.
The foreign ministers of 57 member countries, including Turkish Cyprus,
will take up regional problems including Israel-Palestine, Iraq and
Sudan and will discuss the reconstruction of the organization for
the coming ten years.
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