HONOURABLE CONDITIONS FOR THE JUDGES OF THE CASSATION COURT
A1+
[03:56 pm] 13 June, 2006
Impartial Decisions In The Beautiful Halls?
Criminal cases will henceforth be heard in the Red hall and civil cases
in the White hall of the Cassation court. Asked the question why are
the newly reconstructed halls of the Cassation court called in that
way chairman of the chamber Hovhannes Manoukyan gave the following
answer, “While deciding the names of the halls we were guided by
non-traditional principle. If we didn’t do that you wouldn’t arouse
that question.”
The Cassation court will also have a rich library for its readers
with 60 thousand samples of books. The majority of the books are in
English. It was interesting to know how many other judges besides Mr.
Manoukyan will be able to make use of the library in English, “I am
also incapable to read all those books in their full volume but we
have got specialists who will help us on this score.”
Journalists and all those who are interested in the literature on
law may make use of the library services. The hall of conferences
has also been reconstructed. The repair was mainly financed by the
State budget but the chairman couldn’t say exactly how much money
it cost. Asked whether the repaired halls will enhance justice
administration, Mr. Manoukyan said, “I assume that they will have a
serious impact in this context. Each person strives to improve his
work when working in honorable conditions. We shall soon register
that change in the activity of the Cassation court.”
David Haroutyunyan, Minister of Justice claims that outer attributes
really have their direct influence on the justice. “If you stand on the
entrance of courts you may see the satisfaction of citizens when they
step into the newly repaired halls. Courts and theatres are alike on
this score, theatres start from cloak-rooms and courts – from halls.”
David Haroutyunyan mainly underlined the importance of the new
library and expressed his regret that not all judges may make use
of the books. “We must urge the obligatory knowledge of English from
the next generation of judges.”
Enoq Azaryan, chairman of the qualifying committee of Lawyers’ chamber
also focused on the importance of the repaired halls and rich library,
“Halls and general conditions create psychological atmosphere on the
whole and help to administer justice.”
Chairman of the Lawyers’ chamber Ruben Sahakyan said, “How can
impartial decisions be made in such beautiful halls.”

ANOTHER ARMENIAN GRAND MASTER
A1+
[04:21 pm] 13 June, 2006
FIDE gave Armenian young chess granted Tigran Kotanjyan the title
of Grand Master. The latter met all the criteria of Grand Master for
the third time in the 2006 Armenian Championship.
Tigran Kotanjyan is the 18th Armenian chess player entitled to Grand
Master’s title. Levon Aronyan has the highest rating among Armenian
chess players (2756 points) and is in the third place in the world.
Vladimir Hakobyan is in the 16th place with his 2706 points. To note,
Armenian Grand Masters have recently improved their ratings. Hakobyan
will likely be included in the list of the best 10 players in the
new table. Vladimir gained 9 points in 12 rounds held by him. Gabriel
Sargsyan also made great progress and will likely appear in the list
of the best players too.

THE CREDITOR TOOK THE LAND
A1+
[12:19 pm] 13 June, 2006
Shirak village of Shirak region faces hard times.
According to the region head little changes have been registered in
the village since the 1988 earthquake.
In the village head’s words the inhabitants of the cottage district are
deprived of the right of privatization because of the wrong decision
of the executive committee.
It is inefficient to be engaged in the agriculture work in the
region. On the one hand, the soil is not fertile and on the other it
doesn’t belong to the Shirak residents any longer. Many of them took
credits in order to cultivate their lands but their expectations were
not justified.
Many people in the region having 1200 inhabitants and 310 farms were
unable to pay the credit back. As a result of it the bank took the
lands put in pledge.
The total debt of the village is about 85 million AMD.
According to village head Karen Haroutyunyan there were many programs
which could have facilitated the social state of the peasants provided
they were implemented.
There was an offer to change the water system completely in the recent
period. In order to implement the program the community was to pay
either the 10% of the expenses or render its physical assistance free
of charge.
The two variants were ignored by the villagers.
The irrigation system is also in an awful state. The concrete tubs
haven’t been cleaned for a long time and as a result are full of
slime and rubbish as well as animal waste.
TV Company “Tsayg” of Gyumri.

BIRTHS HAVE REDUCED
A1+
[12:22 pm] 13 June, 2006
The index of the birthrate has decreased in the Shirak region this
year. There were 820 births in the region in comparison with the 868
births of 2005.
According to Satenik Beybutyan, head of the Shirak region Health
Care Board, the reduction of the birthrate is mainly determined by
the emigration, terrible social-economic conditions and the wish of
the youth to have few children.
According to the Health Care Board the death rate has increased. Mainly
cancer and heart diseases prevail in the region. By the way, the
indexes of birthrate and death rate are considered to be inalterable.
TV Company “Tsayg” of Gyumri.

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RATIFIES TRANSPORT AGREEMENT WITH GEORGIA
Armenpress
Jun 13 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: Armenian parliament has ratified today an
agreement on Automobile Communication Between Armenia and Georgia. It
was signed in Tbilisi on April 25 of 2006.
The agreement exempts Armenian and Georgian traffic of customs
payments when they travel through the other’s territory. It also
exempts transit traffic to these countries form customs payments. This
means for example, that a Georgian citizen or a company can cross the
Armenian border by a truck or car without paying customs and other
payments and move freely across Armenian and vice versa. Also trucks
bound for Georgia, for example, from Iran, enjoy the same right.
The agreement, however, has some provisions concerning transportation
of hazardous materials which must be reconciled in advance. Armenian
transport and communication minister Andranik Manukian, who presented
the agreement to lawmakers, said it is aimed at developing cooperation
between Armenia and Georgia.

THE SPHERE OF EDUCATION MUST BE TRANSPARENT
Lragir.am
13 June 06
After his appointment to the post of minister of education and science,
ARF member Levon Mkrtichyan did not wait until the traditional 100th
day and met journalists June 13 hardly a month past his appointment. It
was not the only novelty. The Ministry of Education and Culture is
going to be highly open and transparent for public, says the minister.
Therefore, it was decided that once in ten days the head of an agency
on education will meet journalists with a monthly report. Plus news
conferences on specific topics. According to Levon Mkrtichyan, the
most important thing is to present the activities of the ministry to
the society. “An official needs to know that every citizen can turn
to him and receive an answer. The more publicly we act, and the more
we discuss the problems, the more invincible we will be.”
Levon Mkrtichyan says he also is to blame for the drawbacks and
problems in the sphere because he was appointed minister of education
and culture twice. However, Levon Mkrtichyan declined to speak about
the degree of accountability of Sergo Yerkitsyan for today’s mistakes:
“It is not an ethical question.” But he promises to find the right
solutions by analyzing his mistakes and the mistakes of the former
ministers.

LEVON MKRTCHYAN: THERE IS NEED FOR INCLUSIVE REFORMS IN THE SPHERE OF EDUCATION
ArmRadio.am
13.06.2006 17:34
Position or the Party? If RA Minister of Education and Science Levon
Lazarian faces this dilemma, he will definitely choose the second
one. The Minister from the ARF is, however, confident that what
happened to Orinats Yerkir does not threaten his Party. The newly
appointed Minister urged all heads of educational establishments to
escape getting involved in political games; if they do not share the
ideas of a certain party, it is not necessary to join a party. During
today’s meeting with journalists Levon Lazarian urged not to ask
questions about the education sphere, since the situation here is
the worst.
“We are yielding our positions in the world in this sphere. If
things continue this way, the fall will become more apparent,” Levon
Lazarian said.
He did not criticize the former Minister for the omissions of the
system. He first of all blames himself, since he occupied the same
position twice in the past.
According to the Minister, the current educational system creates an
impression that we have taken the 10-year education system and try
to artificially extend it for 12 years.
Levon Lazarian urged not to conceive the Ministry of Science and
Education solely as an establishment for holding different kinds
of exams.
“There are much more important and serious problems than entry and
exit exams,” Levon Lazarian added.

YEREVAN AND BAKU CAN MAKE THEIR POSITIONS CLOSER ON THE THRESHOLD OF G8 SUMMIT IN ST. PETERSBURG
Regnum, Russia
June 13 2006
On the threshold of the G8 summit, which is to be held in
St. Petersburg on July 15-17, issue of top priority in the Armenian
agenda is worded as follows: will President Robert Kocharyan
participate in the summit and will he meet Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev for talks on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.
On June 4 and 5, in Bucharest, leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
failed to achieve any progress in the issues they were discussing.
Upon returning to Yerevan Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
confirmed the presidents “failed to fix the progress.” And they
failed despite the fact that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs had proposed
new wording and new approaches. “Nevertheless, foreign ministers of
the two countries were told to continue the talks and try to find
common grounds,” Vardan Oskanyan said. It was earlier reported that
foreign ministers of the two countries are to meet in Paris on June
13. During the talks, the parties are to try to get their positions
closer and to pave the way for the next meeting of the presidents.
Some analysts tend to think that the date of another Kocharyan-Aliyev
meeting is not far off: the presidents will have such opportunity in
the near future, namely at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. “This
is quite an important factor, and the co-chairs believed that if
they managed to agree on key issues before the G8 summit, it will
be the best guarantee if the international community does its best
to implement these agreements in all aspects of security, economic,
financial, and political cooperation. These time limits forced to
speed up the process to some extent,” Kocharyan said.
It is a month left before the G8 summit, Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers are to meet today, and it should not be ruled out
that they succeed in getting the positions closer and come to an
agreement on some principles, preparing by this a good basis for the
Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE
by Khatchig Mouradian
June 12, 2006
ZNet, MA
June 13 2006
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a
revolutionary act.
George Orwell
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the
final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated,
is stronger than evil triumphant. Martin Luther King, JR.
If you want proof that telling what one is convinced is the truth
can cost one his/her job in the US State Department, then a public
reference to events that happened 91 years ago is as good as any. The
latter, it appears, has sealed the fate of John Evans, the (soon-to-be
former) U.S. ambassador to Armenia. A career diplomat, Evans had taken
up that post, his first ambassadorial appointment, in August 2004. A
few months later, during a tour which took him to some of the most
vibrant Armenian-American communities throughout the United States,
he uttered the following words at a public gathering hosted by the
Armenian Studies Program at University of California, Berkeley:
“I will today call it the Armenian genocide.” He was describing the
deportation and mass annihilation of the Armenians of the Ottoman
Empire. An estimated one million and a half Armenians fell victim to
this state-sponsored decimation, which is now recognized as genocide
by most Holocaust and genocide scholars,[1] many parliaments around
the world, and even 39 of the 50 states in America.
Sanctioning Denial
People at the highest level of the U.S. government were unhappy with
the term used by Evans because the Turkish government, a staunch
Washington ally, denies to this day that genocide was committed
against the Armenians. Ankara’s official stand maintains that the
Armenians were not subjected to a state sponsored annihilation
process. The Armenians were, the Turkish official viewpoint argues,
only relocated to areas away from the war zone; any Armenian deaths
that occurred during this ‘relocation’ fell victims to ethnic strife,
war conditions or starvation, similar to the fate many Muslims living
in the Ottoman Empire suffered during WWI. Moreover, according to
the official historiography in Turkey, the number of the Armenians
that died due to these “unfortunate events” is exaggerated. The
number preferred by the Turkish government and Turkish historians
following Ankara’s line is 300 thousand, but some go as far as giving
a ludicrously low figure of around only 40 to 50 thousand deaths.
Successive U.S. administrations are on record of having consistently
tried to appease Ankara, from the early 1970s at least, by refusing
to use the g-word, despite growing pressure from an increasing number
of members of the U.S. Congress and international organizations,
which demand proper acknowledgement of the suffering of the Armenians
during World War I. Instead, it has become a tradition since 1994 that
every year, around April 24, on the eve of the commemoration of this
genocide by Armenians around the world, a U.S. presidential statement
is released commemorating “the forced exile and mass killings of as
many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman
Empire” [2] but falling short of calling it “genocide,” [3] although,
as it is often pointed out, these statements sometimes constitute a
textbook definition of genocide.
The issue of the US recognition of the Armenian genocide has been
debated more than once in both houses of the Congress. During one
such debate in late 2000, Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House
of Representatives, withdrew a resolution recognizing the Armenian
genocide on the very eve of the vote, after a personal request
by President Bill Clinton. Hastert’s press release noted that,
“because the President has raised grave national security concerns,
he has requested that the House not consider H.Res.596, Affirmation
of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution. I
have acceded to this request.” Acknowledging that the bipartisan
resolution “would have enjoyed support among the majority of the
House,” Hastert noted that, according to the President, “the passage
of this resolution may adversely impact the situation in the Middle
East and risk the lives of Americans.” These were the first few weeks
of the second Palestinian Intifada.
A few years later, in 2005, FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel
Edmonds accused the FBI of covering up improper financial dealings
between Hastert’s office and certain Turkish circles. She accused
Hastert of accepting Turkish bribes to withdraw the above mentioned
resolution. Investigative reporter David Rose told Democracy Now!,
a daily radio and TV news program broadcast over 400 U.S. stations,
that “Dennis Hastert was not known, as one of the authors of Clinton’s
impeachment, for deferring to his judgment on many occasions, but on
this occasion, he apparently did… It is said that in the wiretaps
that were translated by Sibel Edmonds, reference was made to this
very controversial question of the House vote. One of the Turkish
targets of these wiretaps claimed that the price for getting Dennis
Hastert to withdraw the resolution would be $500,000.”
[4]
Punishing Dissent
U.S. diplomatic representatives across the world have dutifully
followed the lead of the White House and the State Department. By
calling what happened to the Armenians in 1915 with its proper name,
Ambassador Evans parted ways with official U.S. policy. Turkish
officials immediately filed complaints to the State Department and, as
a result, Evans was soon forced to issue the following “clarification”:
“Although I told my audiences that the United States policy on
the Armenian genocide has not changed, I used the term ‘genocide’
speaking in what I characterized as my personal capacity.
This was inappropriate.” This “clarification” did not satisfy the
Turkish government, which noted that the phrase “Armenian genocide”
continued to appear in Evans’ statement. The ambassador now released a
“Clarification of Clarification”, where the phrase “Armenian genocide”
was replaced by the wording “Armenian tragedy.” This obviously set the
record straight as far as the Turkish government was concerned. After
all, while genocide connotes the intent to destroy an ethnic group
and is a rare occurrence in world history, the death of only one
person is often enough to make an event a tragedy.
The issuing of the two clarifications changed little from the fact
that Ambassador Evans had dared to tell the truth rather than stick
to the State Department’s courting policy vis-a-vis the Turkish
governments. The statements were not enough to save him, and in the
next few months, he paid a heavy price for his audacity. First, the
American Foreign Service Association was pressurized in June 2005
to rescind the “Constructive Dissent” award that it had decided to
grant Evans for speaking up on the issue of the Armenian genocide.
Thereafter, news began circulating in early March this year that
Ambassador Evans will be recalled. Although these rumors were neither
confirmed nor denied by top State Department officials and by Evans
himself, the latest developments show that they were true.
On May 23, 2006, the White House formally announced that President
Bush will ask Congress to endorse his nomination of Richard Hoagland
as the new ambassador to Armenia. There was no longer doubt that,
once again, denial and lies had become victorious, at least in the
short term. Ankara will obviously be pleased. And as the modern
Turkish state, built partly on the bones of a million and a half
Armenians, will celebrate a rare victory along its persistent policy
of denial, the U.S. State Department is sending at the same time
a strong and clear message to those in its ranks who dare dissent:
the truth will set you free, but only from your responsibilities in
the State Department.
Khatchig Mouradian is a Lebanese-Armenian writer, translator, and
journalist. He is an editor of the daily newspaper Aztag, published
in Beirut. He can be contacted at [email protected]
[1] A statement by 126 Holocaust Scholars, Holders of Academic Chairs,
and Directors of Holocaust Research and Studies Centers affirming
the “incontestable fact of the Armenian genocide” is available at:
1/current_category.3/affirmation_detail.html
The statement of the International Association of Genocide
Scholars, as well as those by a number of other international
organizations, affirming the Armenian genocide are also available at:
ory.5/affirmation_list.html
[2] Quote from President Bush’s statement on April
24, 2005. For a complete list of presidential
statements on Armenian Remembrance day, see:
gory.4/affirmation_list.html
[3] The only U.S. president to have acknowledged the Armenian
genocide is Ronald Reagan. In a proclamation on April 22, 1981,
Reagan stated, “Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and
the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it – and like too
many other such persecutions of too many other peoples – the lessons
of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.” It should be noted that
Reagan was previously governor of California, which many Armenian
immigrants have made their home in the past few decades. This was
his first year as President. However, in later years, he also avoided
the use of the term “genocide.”
[4] 0/1346254
.cfm?SectionID=74&ItemID=10422

AIR HOSTESS WHO ONCE ACCOMPANIED JOHN PAUL II WAS AMONG THOSE DIED IN AIR CATASTROPHE NEAR SOCHI
Interfax-Religion, Russia
June 13 2006
Moscow, June 13, Interfax – Marina Asratian who died in the A-320
wreck near Sochi was an air hostess of the Pope of Rome John Paul II.
Five years before the tragedy she accompanied the Pope on his mission
to Armenia as a senior air hostess, Zhizn newspaper wrote on Tuesday.
The head of the Vatican expressed his wish to have a photo with
Marina taken.
He called her his guardian and an angel of heaven, the newspaper wrote.