TREND, Azerbaijan
June 10 2006
AGO Group visit program announced

Source: Trend
Author: S.Agayeva

10.06.2006

On June 13 to 15 AGO Group Mission is making t visit to Baku, headed
by Roland Wegener, German Ambassador to CE, Trend reports with
reference to Azeri Foreign Ministry.
The mission consists of Swiss, Swede, Austrian, French and Romanian
ambassadors to the CE and employees of AGO Group Administration. The
visit aims at discussion of the current level of relationships
between Azerbaijan and the CE, the country’s commitments to the
council, in particular those on election regulatory, legal reforms
and Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
The visit program suggests meetings with chief of President’s
Executive Administration Ramiz Mehtiyev, Foreign minister Elmar
Mamedyarov, Justice Minister Fikret Mamedov, chairman of Central
Election Commission Mazahir Panakhov, members of parliamentary
mission to PACE. The meeting with Azeri president Ilham Aliyev is
also expected.
AGO Group was established in January 2001 alongside Armenia and
Azerbaijan joining the CE. It is engaged in monitoring commitment to
assumptions before the CE and operates within the Cabinet of
Ministers of the CE.

Capital FM, Kenya
June 10 2006
Now heads roll at JKIA over the Armenians
By Bernard Momanyi
Senior police officers at the Kenya Airports Police Unit have been
transferred following Thursday night’s scuffle involving the Armenian
brothers.
The Kenya Airport Police Unit’s OCPD and the Officer in charge of the
station there have been transferred together with a Corporal and two
constables who were on duty that night.
A senior officer at Police headquarters says the message has been
communicated to all those affected through their Commandant Beatrice
Nduta.
According to our source, the decision to transfer the officers was
reached late last night by Police Commissioner Major General Hussein
Ali when they failed to explain why they did not take control of the
situation during the night brawl involving the Armenians and Customs
officials.
They also failed to explain why they allowed the Armenians to get out
of the airport even after thay threatening to shoot officials of the
Kenya Revenue Authority at the Customs offices.
The airport is a high security area with a fully fledged police
division and the headquarters of the Kenya Airports Police Unit.
It has over 200 uniformed and non uniformed police officers from
various units who are charged with providing maximum security on a
twenty four hour basis.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Capital FM, Kenya
June 10 2006
Armenians declared ‘persona non grata’
By Bernard Momanyi
The government has finally deported the two controversial Armenians
and two other foreigners following Thursday night’s fracas at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where they roughed up customs
officials.
Artur Margrayan and his brother Sargsyan left the country last night
to Dubai after they were declared persona non grata by the Kenyan
Government.
They were deported alongside two foreigners Arman Damidri and
Alexander Tashchi.
Police Commissioner Major General Hussein Ali said in a statement
faxed to newsrooms last night that the foreigners will not be allowed
to come back to the country either on transit or through any other
means.
Ali says the deportation follows Thursday night’s serious breach of
security at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport involving the
Armenian brothers and their two colleagues.
The deportation follows a series of high-profile meetings held
yesterday by top security officials where it was resolved that their
continued stay in the country was undesirable and posed a major risk.
On Thursday night, the foreigners roughed up customs officials at the
airport and refused to have their luggage inspected, prompting a
night-long raid at their Runda residence and subsequent arrest.
They further claim to have been denied access to their lawyers, and
have not recorded statements with the police.
The Armenian brothers, who made headlines in March, after allegations
that they were mercenaries, say their arrest is a political frame-up,
blaming Langata MP Raila Odinga for the turn of events.

Ceremonial hall of Sassanid palace discovered in western Iran

TEHRAN, June 10 (MNA) — A team of archaeologists has discovered ruins
of the ceremonial hall of the Sassanid era Khosrow Palace near the
city of Qasr-e Shirin in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah,
the Persian service of CHN reported on Friday.
The hall was constructed of cobblestone and gypsum and measures
12.5×26 meters.
`Studies indicate that the hall had a large arch built of bricks of
different sizes overhead,’ team director Yusef Moradi said.
The hall is surrounded by a number of porticos with stone and brick
columns, and the team recently discovered frescos on the columns, he
added.
Covering an area of 75,000 square meters, the palace was built by the
Sassanid king Khosrow II for his Armenian Christian wife Shirin. Some
Iranian and Arab geographers and historians of the early Islamic era
called the palace one of the wonders of the world.
Archaeological studies are underway to determine the original
appearance of Khosrow Palace.
The region was excavated by French archeologist and prehistorian
Jacques de Morgan in the late nineteenth century, British
archaeologist and writer Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell in 1910 and
1911, and then by Oscar Reuter. Each one prepared architectural plans
of the Khosrow Palace, but the Iranian team believes that none of the
plans are reliable.
The archaeological team working at the site recently discovered a wall
surrounding the palace about 40 kilometers in length, which they
believe was used as a defensive device for the palace.
Moradi said last February that the team is also searching for traces
of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (ruled 610-641) at the palace.
Khosrow II (reigned 590-628) began a long war against the Byzantine
Empire in 602 and by 619 had conquered almost all southwestern Asia
Minor and Egypt.
Further expansion was prevented by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius,
who between 622 and 627 drove the Persians back within their original
borders. Many experts believe that the Khosrow Palace had been sacked
and pillaged by Heraclius.

The Standard (Nairobi) Kenya
June 10, 2006
Brothers’ stay in Kenya shrouded in secrecy
By Ben Agina
The Armenian brothers at the centre of mercenary allegations have
been in the news since March.

A sample of one of the vehicles the brothers own

After endless speculations about their mysterious presence in the
country, the two foreigners were yesterday bound to exit as
dramatically as they entered, after it emerged that they were to be
deported.
The two came into the limelight after Lang’ata MP Raila Odinga
claimed that there were mercenaries in the country, shortly after the
police raid on the Standard Media Group premises on March 2.
Raila later named a physical address in Nairobi’s upmarket Runda
area, claiming that that was where the mercenaries lived with the
support of the Government.
But Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargysan later held a conference at the
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport VIP lounge, where they denied
that they were mercenaries.
They further made a sensational claim that that they had loaned Raila
Sh100m and also met Mwingi North MP Kalonzo Musyoka.
The most sensational revelation was that the brothers jointly owned a
company with the daughter of Narc activist, Mary Wambui.
The Standard exclusively reported that Ms Winfred Wangui was one of
the five shareholders of Kensington Holding Limited, alongside
Margaryan and Sargysan.
The company records indicated that the other shareholders were Alois
Otieno Omitta, believed to be Wambui’s personal assistant, and a Mr
Julius Maina Mwangi. At one time, Artur Margaryan refused to allow
police into his rented house and rebuffed their attempts to persuade
him to record a statement.

Margaryan and one of his nine dogs that he imported from Dubai

He told the eight police officers that they should either arrest him
or produce a search warrant before he could comply.
The police left the house after they received a telephone call from a
senior officer, ordering them to return to their base, raising
further questions, as to who was “protecting” the aliens.
The police had wanted Margaryan to accompany them so that Nairobi
Deputy provincial CID chief, Isaiah Osugo, who had been appointed by
Police Commissioner, Major-General Hussein Ali, to investigate the
mercenary claim, could interrogate him.
The Orange Democratic Movement accused the Government of providing
security to the Armenians, whom they alleged were international
criminals. There was outrage when it emerged that the Armenians had
been chauffeured to JKIA in two Government vehicles guarded by two
outriders to conduct a “stage-managed” press conference.
They were sneaked in through Gate 1 and later disguised to appear as
if they had just landed at the airport before addressing journalists.
The brothers, at one point claimed, that they would launch an
ambitious slum-grading project in the city.
During another dramatic moment, police saved Artur Margaryan from a
lynch mob in the streets of Nairobi.
He had just left the Standard/KTN offices at I&M Tower Building, on
Kenyattaa Avenue, after addressing a press conference, denying once
again that he was a mercenary.
But as he waited for a chauffeured car to pick him up, an angry crowd
confronted him and began chanting: “Mercenary! Mercenary! Mwizi!
Mwizi! (Thief! Thief)”, forcing him to jump over guard rails along
Kenyatta Avenue to escape.

African News Dimension, South Africa
June 10 2006
Kenya: Artur brothers arrested after airport gun drama

June 10, 2006,

By ANDnetwork .com

Alleged Armenian brothers Artur Margaryan and Artur Sagarsyan drew
guns and triggered a terror alert at the Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday night.

And police yesterday afternoon recovered eight guns and 100 rounds of
ammunition in the compound of the brothers’ residence in Nairobi’s
up-market Runda estate.
The same afternoon in a dramatic turn of events the men who recently
addressed a news conference at the airport’s VIP Lounge, were back at
JKIA to face deportation.
The men who have previously swaggered into and out of the airport
without restriction were locked in the Prohibited Immigrants room to
await deportation.
That triggered fresh controversies for their acts were clearly of a
criminal nature which should have seen them arraigned, but they were
treated as if they had entered Kenya unlawfully.
That prompted the Leader of the Official Opposition, Mr Uhuru
Kenyatta, to accuse the Government of covering-up the illegal acts of
the Armenians.
The Liberal Democratic Party chairman, Mr David Musila, asked
President Kibaki to tell Kenyans the true story of the Armenian. It
emerged yesterday that the brothers had unrestricted access to
Kenya’s biggest airport given them by a senior Kenya Airport
Authority (KAA) official without surrendering their guns.
Margaryan and Sagarsyan forced their way out of the airport with over
12 bags they yanked from the baggage’s conveyor belt before they
could be opened up for inspection.
Investigations by the Saturday Standard revealed that the passes for
the brothers were issued on February 10 while the other three for
their “aides” were issued on Thursday morning hours before they
turned up at the airport to receive their “brother” and “sister”
from Dubai.
The man and woman arrived with the bags with unidentified cargo and
it was on their arrival that the airport drama began. Sagarsyan and
Margaryan were allowed into the airport without screening, a
privilege the KAA security booklet last revised in 2004 says is
reserved for President and Cabinet members. The only other category
of people exempted from this stringent rule is foreign envoys, and
special groups who must be escorted to the plane’s elevator by armed
police.
When the police later opened one of the bags following a commando
raid at their plush Runda home, they found several fake local,
foreign, diplomatic and Government vehicle registration plates.
They also found black balaclavas, the kind of which the hooded
policemen who raided the Standard and KTN offices donned. The bag was
also stuffed with pistol holsters and camouflage military jackets.
In the compound were 11 cars, some bearing GK plates. The vehicles
included a BMW, three Toyota Harriers and other luxurious saloon
cars.
An official Criminal Investigation Department (CID) letter granting
Margaryan the powers of a police officer was also found in the house.
The police team also seized three computers and videotapes, which
insiders revealed were similar to those taken away by the police
during the March 2 media raid on Standard Group offices.
The criminal acts by the Armenians are bound to lower the rating of
Kenya’s airport security. And Kenya will have to give a written
explanation to the International Civil Aviation Authority within
seven days for the acts of the foreigners were openly kid-gloved by
security forces.
After hours of procrastination and a ping-pong game of conflicting
orders, the police moved in.
Source : Eastandard

The Standard (Nairobi) Kenya
June 10, 2006
Leaders: State is hiding something
By Ben Agina
Kanu chairman Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday read conspiracy on the part of
the Government in deporting the four Armenians.
Uhuru said the Armenians had not broken any immigration rules to
warrant deportation, but had committed a crime that called for
prosecution.

Artur Sagarsyan and Artur Margaryan await deportation pensively at
the Kenya Airport Police Unit

“The Armenians had committed a criminal offence and they should have
been charged and prosecuted. The Government is in this,” said Uhuru.
Speaking on telephone from the US, Mwingi North MP Kalonzo Musyoka
said the Armenians should not have been here in the first place.
Kalonzo said it was clear from the beginning that the Armenians were
people with ulterior motives.
Uhuru said it was shocking that foreigners could threaten Kenyans.
He said it was not enough to deport the Armenians, adding that they
should have faced the full force of the law.
“Why should you deport people who have entered our security area and
failed to pay duty?” he asked.
Uhuru wondered whether the Armenians were above the law for them not
to face charges. He said the Government should be held accountable
for their failure to prefer charges against the Armenians.
Kalonzo said now that they had committed a crime, they should be
charged.
The Liberal Democratic party chairman, Mr David Musila, said the
incident witnessed at JKIA on Thursday breached the security of the
country.
“As LDP we had raised concerns that these were mercenaries with
ulterior motives,” said Musila. Musila, who is also the Deputy
Speaker, said the President owes Kenyans an explanation after some
senior ministers earlier defended the Armenians.
“Kenyans must get an explanation on who was protecting the
Armenians,” demanded Musila. Musila accused some people in Government
of protecting the Armenians.
He also wondered whether Kenya’s security is at the mercy of
foreigners.
Musila congratulated the Commissioner of Police Major-General Hussein
Ali for the action he took against the Armenians. Kabete MP Paul
Muite said the behaviour of the Armenians at the JKIA was insulting.
“If you were in a foreign country and you enter a security area and
behave like that you could be dead by now,” said Muite.
He wondered why the Armenians were spared when they threatened to
shoot Immigration officials at the airport.
Muite, who chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Legal and
Administration of Justice, said the Armenians have been part of their
discussions since the raid on The Standard Group premises on March 2.
He said the committee hopes to summon the Commissioner to brief them
more with the unfolding events.
Muite also congratulated the police commissioner and expressed
optimism that the due process of law would be followed. LDP
secretary-general Joseph Kamotho yesterday asked Internal Security
minister John Michuki to tell Kenyans why the Armenians were being
deported instead of being charged in court.
Kamotho said the Internal Security Minister had assured Kenyans that
the Armenians were being investigated.
“Now that they have committed a crime, why are they being let off?
What Kind of cover-up is this by Government?” posed Kamotho.
“If the Government has nothing it fears the Armenians would expose,
they should not have been deported,” they said.

Daily Nation, Kenya
June 10, 2006
Writer at home with Armenians
Story by ADHYAMBO ODERA
Publication Date: 6/10/2006
Being a celebrity in Kenya is simple – hang around a clique of people
that consider themselves celebs.
It didn’t take the Artur brothers long to figure that out.
When Mr Artur Margaryan invited some writers for a party, I at first
shunned it. I didn’t want to mix up with the man after what had been
reported about him – mercenary claims and all.
The second time our paths crossed was at the Chaguo la Teeniez Awards
(Chat). The man arrived in style. By his side, was a woman wearing a
lot of gold. He once said he spent Sh150,000 a day to entertain his
girlfriend.
I wondered why he was at the ceremony. Chat awards are for musicians,
actors, DJs and radio presenters.
I was answered when he took the stage to present a prize to a shocked
musician Amani, then gave comedian and Chat MC Mongolo Sh10,000.
The following week, he threw a party at his Runda residence. I went
to satisfy my curiosity. But getting there at 7pm wasn’t easy.
Luckily, he had hired guards from a security firm to escort guests to
the house he shared with his brother Artur Sargsyan.
At the gate, another man, possibly Armenian, had a walkie talkie. He
would ask guests their names and confirm it with Mr Margaryan before
letting them in. But guests had to be escorted, owing to the 12 guard
dogs, which looked ready to maul a stranger.
As my escort ushered me into the house, I noticed that the five or so
luxurious cars in the compound had their number plates covered, and
my escort was uncomfortable with me lagging behind checking out the
compound.
At the garden, a few local celebs had already gathered. I went
straight into the house. It was not well furnished – expensive
leather seats thrown together rather hurriedly, I thought.
One thing struck me. Someone in that house loved art, and expensive
pieces too.
Mr Margaryan was at the office, but his brother greeted me
cheerfully. When I finally met him at the office, where an associate
was winding up a meeting, he greeted me with a polite smile.
I noticed that he wanted to mingle with the crowd, but people seemed
uncomfortable with his hug. Some turned up for the party and left
immediately.
I stayed on to find out more. He told me he was in love with Kenyan
music. He wanted to contribute to its growth by investing in it, he
said.
He also said he had a record label back home and wanted to create
stars. Not for the money, though, he said. He knew where to market
them and make money. In the meantime he wanted people to know that he
was a great man, with interest in show business.
The musicians in question were in attendance, and he chatted with
them. He also posed for photographs with almost everyone. But
remembering what happened to Mwingi North MP Kalonzo Musyoka, I opted
out.
The brothers had claimed they knew the MP and had taken a picture
with him.
What came out clearly is that Mr Margaryan has style, a sense of
humour and is always prepared with the right words.

Daily Nation, Kenya
June 10, 2006
The incident that sparked police action
Story by NATION Reporter
Publication Date: 6/10/2006
The arrests were triggered by an incident at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport, Nairobi, in which one of the brothers
allegedly assaulted a Customs officer, who blocked their way as they
left the airport.
Mr Sargsyan and a woman colleague had arrived from Dubai and were to
be received by a business tycoon and Mr Margaryan in a convoy of four
vehicles. The tycoon had made arrangements for the brothers to enter
the arrivals section and clear a consignment of closed-circuit TV
cameras and monitors, which had arrived from Dubai as unaccompanied
luggage.
It was not established why the brothers were allowed into the
international arrivals lounge with firearms. A licensed gun holder is
required to surrender it to the security who hold it until he leaves
the airport.
But, according to a source, Customs officers who inspected the
luggage had turned away a courier the brothers had sent to collect
the consignment, demanding that they pay duty for the equipment.
Demand for duty
The source said the Armenians demanded to know on whose order the
officers were demanding duty, and vowed not to pay it. Mr Margaryan
was said to have pushed the officers out of the way and walked out,
saying that their bags were never searched.
Sources said their aide then grabbed the bags, placed them on a
trolley and pushed it out as Mr Margaryan drew a gun and threatened
to shoot anyone who dared block their way out of the airport.
A minister’s bodyguard who happened to be at the airport, also drew a
gun and dared Mr Margaryan to shoot. The Armenian put his gun back
into the holster and walked out.
Another Customs officer who tried to stop them was hit and injured by
one of the brothers before they walked to the main exit, jumped onto
waiting vehicles and sped out of the airport.
Police commissioner Hussein Ali summoned airports police boss
Beatrice Nduta to his Vigilance House office to find out how the
brothers and the businessman had driven out of the airport without
being intercepted.
The four-vehicle convoy left the airport past armed General Service
Unit officers and passed road-blocks on their way to Runda.

Daily Nation, Kenya
June 10, 2006
Speak out on country’s security, Opposition MPs tell President
Story by NATION Team
Publication Date: 6/10/2006
Opposition MPs yesterday asked President Kibaki to address the nation
on security in the country following the activities of two Armenian
brothers.

Residents of the city’s Runda estate gather outside the home of the
Artur brothers after a police raid yesterday.Photo by Joseph Mathenge

They also demanded the sacking of Internal Security minister John
Michuki for failing to guarantee the safety of the country from Mr
Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargsyan.
The leaders, who spoke separately to the Nation, said an incident in
which the two brothers stormed the Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport wielding guns must be explained by the President.
In addition, the Government should explain why it allowed the two
foreigners, who were two months ago accused by some politicians of
being mercenaries, to possess guns, fake number plates and to import
cars.
Protecting Armenians
Opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta, Liberal Democratic Party chairman
David Musila and secretary-general Joseph Kamotho, Orange Democratic
Movement spokesman Mutula Kilonzo and MPs Paul Muite, William Ruto,
William ole Ntimama and Charles Keter, want the Government to explain
who was protecting the Armenians.
Mr Margaryan and Mr Sargsyan should face criminal charges in court
alongside their Kenyan accomplices, the leaders said.
Attempts to deport them, they added, meant the Government was hiding
something sinister.
Said Mr Kilonzo: “These people must be arraigned in a court here for
committing an offence on Kenyan soil. They should not be deported.”
Mr Musila and Mr Kilonzo said the foreigners should have been taken
to court to explain why they allegedly had a GK vehicle, diplomatic
and government car number plates, 15 vehicles, and why they assaulted
Customs officials.
Mr Kilonzo said the two men could not be prosecuted anywhere else and
deporting them would merely be giving them safe passage.
Mr Muite said the Government was in a rush to deport the two Armenian
brothers to cover up for their activities, and accused top government
officials who were the brothers’ “god fathers and mothers” of being
behind a “stage-managed deportation”.
Mr Muite, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and
Administration, said: “We have learnt with regret that there are
plans to deport the two, and if that happens, it will amount to
obstruction of justice,” he told reporters at Parliament Buildings.
Mr Muite warned top officials that one day they would be called to
account for their actions, saying: “It does not matter how high up
those involved are, justice will prevail,” he said.
The conduct of the Armenians, said Mr Muite, was an affront to the
sovereignty and dignity of Kenyans.
The MP praised the commissioner of police, Major-General Hussein Ali,
for ordering the raid into the Runda home of the two brothers.
The leaders wanted to know how foreigners could force their way into
the country, threatening junior government officers and sneaking in
uncustomed goods, in total disregard of the law.
The leaders termed the action at the airport by the two men a threat
to national security and which must be explained by the President
since his Internal Security minister, Mr John Michuki, had done
nothing.
If there was no clear explanation, Kenyans would believe that the
country was under the rule of foreign mercenaries, they added. Mr
Musila said: “The President swore to defend the Constitution of the
country. We are left with no alternative but to ask him to give the
public an explanation as to why the security of this country has been
compromised.”
Mr Musila, Mr Kamotho and Mr Ruto said the Orange Democratic Movement
had questioned the presence of the Armenians but the Government had
dismissed them.
Mr Kamotho said: “We are now vindicated… we issued a statement as
ODM saying these people were up to no good… Kenyans saw them
forcing contraband goods into the country.”
He recalled that the Government defended the Armenians when he asked
a question in Parliament about their business in the country.
Mr Kilonzo added: “All this vindicates us in the Opposition that
there are mercenaries in the country who are here with the knowledge
of the Government.”
Mr Musila said they expected heads to roll and Kenyans would be
watching President Kibaki’s actions keenly in the next few days.
Mr Kenyatta said the activities of the two brothers could no longer
be tolerated.
Speaking at the Garden Hotel in Machakos, shortly before the start of
a Kanu workshop, Mr Kenyatta said the scuffle at Jomo Kenyatta
International Airport on Thursday night was enough justification that
the foreigners were engaged in questionable activities.
The leaders said it was a serious breach of security to allow
foreigners to threaten government officials meant to ensure the
country’s safety.
Law Society of Kenya council member Evans Monari said it was illegal
to deport the two brothers without first charging them.
Deportation should come after they have served a sentence, if
convicted, he said.
Reported by David Mugonyi, Tony Kago and Bob Odalo
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress