96 OUT OF 113 FAMILIES OF THE A-320 CRASH VICTIMS APPLIED FOR RECEIVING INSURANCE PAYMENTS
ArmRadio.am
13.06.2006 11:47
As of June 9, 96 out of 113 families of the victims of the crashed
A-320 jet of Armavia Company had submitted applications to “Grand”
Company to receive the insurance payments. Executive Director of
the Company Artak Antonyan told “Armenpress” that out of these 96
victims74 were citizens of Armenia, 22 were Russian citizens. It
should be noted that Russian and other citizens must also submit the
papers to Yerevan Office of the “Grand” Company in person or via fax.
The families of the victims can apply the insurance company by 18 June.
Artak Antonyan noted that those who are late will not be deprived
of the right to receive the insurance payments. They will receive
these later.

BAKU PREFERS PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT
ArmRadio.am
13.06.2006 11:56
Baku prefers peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The Foreign
Minister of azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov declared this yesterday
during the meeting with members of the Foreign Ministry delegation
of the South-African Republic, Day.az reports.
Azeri Foreign Minister informed the guests about “occupation of 20
percent of Azerbaijani territory by Armed Forces of Armenia and th
ethnic cleansings here.” Elmar Mammadyarov emphasyzed the necessity
of withrdrawal of Armenian troops from the above-mentioned territories
and provision of conditions for the return of refugees.

PRESIDENT OF ARMECONOMBANK ADMINISTRATION FILES HIS RESIGNATION
ArmRadio.am
13.06.2006 13:14
President and Executive Director of Armeconombank Administration
Ashot Osipyan filed his resignation today. “Arminfo” agency learned
from confidential sources that Osiplyan had filed his resignation
still before the meeting of shareholders last Friday, during which
the work of the Administrative body received a high evaluation.
Osipyan was invited to the position of the President of the bank
Administration in 1998. Before that he worked as Agency Head of the
Ministry of Finance and Economy and as Adviser to the President of
the Central Bank. Most probably, Ashot Osipyan will return to work
at state structures.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

EU MEMBERSHIP: FOOTNOTES
The Guardian – United Kingdom
Jun 12, 2006
Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal, known as Ataturk, was a junior army officer who became
the founder and first president of the Turkish republic after the
collapse of the Ottoman empire. He transformed Turkey into a modern
secular state
Sovereignty Day
Celebrated on April 23, Sovereignty Day commemorates the opening of
the first Turkish national assembly in 1920
AKP
The AKP (Justice and Development) movement was formed in 2001 from
ruins of previously banned Islamist parties, but leaders describe
themselves as moderates and “conservative democrats”. Opponents have
accused it of hiding an Islamist agenda and plotting to undermine
Turkey’s secular democracy
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
A former mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan led the AKP to victory in 2002
elections, but was barred from becoming prime minister because
of a conviction for inciting religious hatred. After his party
forced through a constitutional amendment allowing him to stand for
parliament, Mr Erdogan became PM in March 2003
Kurdish conflict
Turkey’s war with its repressed minority of Kurds has lasted for
decades. The current conflict erupted in 1984, when Abdullah Ocalan,
guerrilla leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ party, led the rebellion.
It has claimed 40,000 lives
First world war massacres
Turkey faces international pressure to recognise that more than 1
million Armenians were massacred during a 1915 campaign of ethnic
cleansing by Ottoman Turks. Turkish officials claim that most deaths
were caused by hunger and disease.

NCTR AGAIN INFRINGES THE LAW
Anna Israelian
Aravot.am
10 June 06
And it tries to hide infringements by small cunnings.
The 50th article of the law “About Television and Radio” was inserted
in December 2003 according to which “National Commission must properly
substantiate decisions about selecting the owner of license, refusing
the license”.
According to the 67th article of the ”NCTR code” that decision is
sent to the applicant in 10 days after taking decision.
The NCTR hasn’t substantiated yet the reasons of refusing ”A1+”
after summarizing contest proposals on 25 of May.
The NCTR chairman Grigor Amalian affirmed in the press interview
yesterday that he had been slandered. According to him they sent the
copy of decision by post on 5 of June. But the envelope was returned
to the NCTR on 8 of June; ” If the addressee doesn’t receive the
ordered letter after sending it for two times, it is returned to the
sender, informing him about it”. The point is that the letter was
sent to the ”A1+” director Mesrop Movsesian where the ”Meltex”
company is registered. The NCTR chairman mentioned that just that
address was mentioned in the application of participation in the
contest. ”You should write you next address as the alternative one
in the application”, – Grigor Amalian said.
But the address Lusovrchi15 as the address of company is mentioned
just on the first page of the contest proposal of ”A1+” and it is
supposed that the NCTR members should see the first page of that
package. The ”A1+” producer Susanna Ohanjanian told ”Aravot”;
”I was writing the application in the NCTR personnel and I wrote
Lusovorchi 15 in the place of address. The NCTR chief of licensing and
methodic department Ishkhan Vardanian asked me to write the juridical
address. I said if they needed in sending letters they should send
by that address. He answered, we knew your place. He made me tear
that paper and I wrote again”.
By the way Mesrop Movsesian’s neighbor are Badeyans’ from whom we
informed that the only letter was brought on 8 of June, that is in
14 days. The postman has made the neighbors to sign that they have
received the letter.
This story is essential for the following circumstance; Susanna
Ohanjanian informed “Aravot” on 25 of May that it wasn’t excluded
that they would turn to court for that infringement after receiving
the copy of the NCTR decision; “The NCTR was obliged to publish the
demands of the contest, those minimal demands which the participants
are obliged to provide. The commission hasn’t done it for this
time”. Grigor Amalian named this accusation “obvious falsehood”
and slander. ”There was an open, public sitting and all demands of
the contest have been published. If there wasn’t any condition how
that contest was taken place?”
–Boundary_(ID_OLnPYJeC5eUb+5SFKNo7Mg)–

ADDRESS DISPATCHED TO CO-CHAIRS OF OSCE MG WITH INVITATION TO FRONTIER LINE
Author: J. Shahverdiyev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 12 2006
“We addressed co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group in a view of significant
damage to ecology and culture on occupied Azeri grounds”, – reportedly
said Nizami Bahmanov, head of Azeri community of Nagono-Karabakh.
Bahmanov said Armenians burn houses and forests on frontier line to
ash. “This is a danger not only for occupied grounds but also for
people residing behind the frontline”, – he stated. He stated the
invitation dispatched to co-chairs that asks them to come to the
frontline and see Armenians’ brutalities. “Now we are waiting for
the reply”, – he added.
He said also the similar request was dispatched to OSCE chairman’s
PA Andzhey Kasprszik. “This official never performed with comments
on breaking the cease-fire. Each day such kirmishes take places but
he never asks who breaks the armistice”, – he concluded.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

US NUKES AT INCIRLIK QUESTIONED
Tolga KORKUT
BÝA, Turkey
June 12 2006
Opposition CHP deputy Elekdag prepares to table nuclear bombs issue
at Parliament: “We don’t need them, let’s send them back”. Global
BAK’s Mater: “Secret decree is still kept secret. Agreement may have
been automatically extended”.
BÝA (Istanbul) – The presence of 90 American nuclear bombs at the
Incirlik Air Base in the Southeast Turkish province of Adana is being
brought before parliament by the country’s main opposition Republic
Peoples Party (CHP) deputy and former Turkish ambassador to the United
States, Sukru Elekdag.
In an exclusive interview with bianet last week, Elekdag said no
justification could be made by civilian or military authorities to
retain these weapons after the Cold War and that, in his view, their
presence delivered a blow to the regional political prestige of Turkey.
Elekdag is calling on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to
explain if there is any valid military purpose in still allowing these
weapons to be held in Turkish soil despite the end of the Cold War.
“In 1991 father Bush made a historical statement and said ‘there is no
such threat. We are withdrawing all of our land tactical missiles in
Europe.’ Then they said ‘air to surface bombs will stay for a while
and we will liquidate them’. But these were all forgotten. It is only
now that it’s revealed what these weapons really are.
Previously it was impossible to prove this. Authorities were neither
saying yes or no,” Elakdag explained.
Noting that Turkey itself was not under any threat, Elekdag said
“These weapons that are under USA control are not necessary. If there
is a reason, let us know. If there is not, they should be taken out
of the country”.
Elekdag added, “Middle East countries are concerned over the existence
of these weapons. The new strategy of the USA is a pre-emptive
strategy. In other words, to strike the source of a danger it sees
without waiting. This, as in Iraq, leads to disaster”.
“We do not want to Iran to be nuclear armed. This issue has three
actors, the USA, Israel and Iran. There is only one way out in solving
this tension,” he said. “The Middle East should become a nuclear free
zone. Turkey should revitalise this draft”.
He said, however, that “it cannot support this with nuclear weapons.
Being the secretary of the Islamic Conference Organisation, Turkey
could take the responsibility of such a project at the level of the
United Nations on a legal platform. It is difficult, but this is the
only way out”.
Elekdag said that for his part, he now planned to bring the United
Nations Convention to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Weapons on the
agenda of the Turkish Parliament.
“I will reveal the arbitrary way the USA is enforcing this
convention. If we do not want the 21st century to b the century of
disaster, we have to enforce this convention fastidiously. Otherwise,
other countries will revive the nuclear armament projects that they
had shelved”.
Asked whether he would work together with non-governmental
organisations already active on the issue, Elekdag said “I need to
consider this. I do not know what their agenda is. I need to find
this out. I am not against necessary defence measures being taken.
Whatever required should be done. But I do think that there is no
defence justification related to nuclear bombs”.
Mater: Agreement between Pentagon and Chief of Staff
Tayfun Mater, spokesman for the Global Peace and Justice Coalition
(Kuresel BAK) that has been involved in a prolonged struggle for the
closure of Incirlik air base and for the Council of Ministers to
disclose a secret decree pertaining to its use, regards Elekdag’s
upcoming initiative as a positive development but warns “these
agreements are in reality between the Pentagon and the [Turkish]
Chief of General Staff office. I do not think that they will openly
be brought to Parliament”.
Mater told bianet that despite this, they would continue to do
everything within their capacity to force Ankara to disclose the
secret decrees under which Incirlik is controlled and used.
He explained that despite going through the Right to Obtain Information
and even filing cases, they could not learn of the Council of
Ministers secret decree on Incirlik. “We never received a reply to
our application for Information. The Council of State rejected our
case for the decree to be annulled. And because this case was secret,
we were not shown the decree” Mater explained.
He added that the agreement related to the base should have been
extended to June 5, 2006 “but no information was leaked out. It might
be that the text says somewhere that if there is no objection, the
agreement is automatically extended. The original text of the decree
has still not been disclosed.”
Gerger: We’ll live with nuclear bombs without rooted changes
Renown Turkish writer and one of the founding member of the Turkish
Human Rights Association, Dr. Haluk Gerger said that the presence
of nuclear weapons in Turkey has been an open secret since the 1950s
and added “but in Turkey, as long as the situation doesn’t change in
the Chief of General Staff determining policies, there will both be
nuclear bombs and CIA torture planes”.
Gerger explained to bianet that US nuclear weapons were deployed to
Turkey in the second half of the 1950s both under NATO agreements
and bilateral agreements with the United States.
“These bombs are owned by the US. They can only be used under the
ratification of the President of the USA. If Turkey does not want
these weapons, it needs to review the NATO agreements and bilateral
agreements with the USA. Not all NATO members accept nuclear weapons
on their soil” he said.
Gerger argued, however, that Turkey did not have the political
willpower to review these texts.
“The USA deployed nuclear weapons to the Middle East region first
through Turkey. Then by aiding Israel and turning a blind eye. The
third entry was with Iran under the Shah” Gerger said.
“The peace movement and socialist movement have always voiced their
objections. But a meaningful objection never turned out. Opposition
parties might have used the issue occasionally but when they came to
power, they continued to support nuclear bombs. Today there is still
not a serious objection. The CHP does not have a program that says
‘I’ll get the nuclear bombs out of the country if I come to power’.”
Gerger concluded that unless there were rooted changes in Turkey,
the continue would continue to host nuclear bombs. “Unless there is a
true democracy in Turkey, neither social opposition nor governments
can influence this kind of strategic military issues. The Chief of
General Staff will decide”.
Bombs “only just” on political agenda
More than a year has passed since the American National Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) organisation disclosed in its February 9, 2005
dates report that there were 90 nuclear weapons at Adana’s Incirlik
air base and a total of 480 throughout Europe. The original report
was published by bianet on February 10.
Yet months before this, on December 9, 2004, CHP Adana deputy Tacidar
Seyhanhad submitted a motion to Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul in
parliament related to the presence of nuclear and chemical weapons
at Incirlik base.
In his short reply to the motion on January 13, 2005, Gonul said
“the answers contain information classified secret. Because of this
a a response cannot be given”
Information pertaining to the bombs came to the media and political
agenda only after a May 17 press statement on the issue by Greenpeace
General Director Dr. Gerd Leipold.
Many NGOs including Kuresel BAK, Human Rights Association and
Greenpeace have staged a number of activities in Turkey for information
on the nuclear weapons in Incirlik to be disclosed and to have access
to the Secret Incirlik Decree under which the base is operated.
Close to many of the world’s potential trouble spots and only a jump
away from Iraq, Armenia and Iran, Incirlik Air Base is an important
base in NATO’s Southern Region. As a prime staging location, Incirlik
offers extensive runway facilities and aircraft shelters. It also
serves as a regional storage center for war reserve materials. The
heavily guarded base hosts hundreds of US personnel, US and Turkish
civilian employees and contractors.
/news80433.htm
–Boundary_(ID_AqXslLPt7Otl3K292Yd yNA)–

MICHELINE CALMY-REY: SWITZERLAND IS INTERESTED IN ARMENIA’S BEING ON GOOD TERMS WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTIRES
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 12 2006
YEREVAN, JUNE 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Switzerland attaches
great importance to the South Caucasian region and is interested
in establishment of peace and democracy there. Micheline Calmy-Rey,
Vice-Chairwoman of the Swiss Confederation’s Federal Council, Swiss
Foreign Minister, declared this at the June 12 meeting with RA Prime
Minister Andranik Margarian. According to her, her country pays a great
attention to the issues of security and migration in the region and is
ready to discuss the issue of simplification of the visa regime. As
Mrs Micheline Calmy-Rey characterized, Switzerland is interested
in Armenia’s (occupying a central position in the South Caucasus)
being on good terms with the neighboring countries. According to
her, as OSCE member her country is interested in the peaceful and
quick settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem and strains every
effort for achieving this within the framework of the OSCE Minsk
Group. The Swiss Foreign Minister once more affirmed the readiness of
her country to render assistance in establishment of a constructive
dialogue between Armenia and Turkey. She emphasized that though the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Swiss parliament, as well
as the law on punishment for the denial of the Genocide have created
some tension in the relations with Turkey in the recent period,
the Swiss authorities are firm in their position relating to this
issue. Emphasizing the importance of the process of democratization
for establishment of regional stability and security, Mrs Calmy-Rey
asserted that her country approves the efforts of the Armenian
government aimed at continuing the reforms in the other spheres of
economy, for the purpose of bringing them in correspondence with the
European standards. Andranik Margarian and Micheline Calmy-Rey once
more confirmed the readiness of the two countries’ governments to
develop Armenian-Swiss political and economic cooperation.

SWITZERLAND SUPPORTS EFFORTS CONCENTRATED ON SEEKING DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO NK PROBLEM
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
June 12 2006
YEREVAN, June 12. /ARKA/. Switzerland supports efforts concentrated
on seeking diplomatic solution to Karabakh problem, Swiss Foreign
Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said Monday in Yerevan in a joint news
conference with her Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan.
In her words, Swiss Government has repeatedly organized meetings
between Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Geneva.
In her opinion, Karabakh conflict settlement will lay favorable ground
for restoring Armenia’s relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Micheline Calmy-Rey arrived in Yerevan on June 11 for a three-day
visit. She is set to meet President Robert Kocharyan, Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan.
She will tour Mission Armenia Swiss organization’s offices in Yerevan
and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as well as to visit
Armenian Genocide Victims Memorial to pay floral tribute to those
killed in Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MPS RATIFY THE ARMENIAN-GEORGIAN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE COMMUNICATION
ArmRadio.am
13.06.2006 14:36
Deputies of the National Assembly ratified the Armenian-Georgian
intergovernmental agreement on international automobile
communication. RA Minister of Transport and Communication Andranik
Manukyan noted in his speech that the agreement was signed on April
25, 2006 in Tbilisi. According to the contract, all vehicles in both
countries are exempt from transport and custom duties. The agreement
does not envisage ecology payments, either.