PACE RAPPORTEUR EXPOSES GLOBAL ‘SPIDER’S WEB’ OF CIA SECRET JAILS
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.06.2006 18:14 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur
Dick Marty today revealed what he called a global “spider’s web”
of CIA detentions and transfers and listed seven Council of Europe
member states who could be held responsible, in varying degrees, for
violations of the rights of named individuals by colluding in these
operations. In a 67-page explanatory memorandum to his report, made
public in Paris today at a meeting of the Assembly’s Legal Affairs
Committee, he said there were corroborated facts strengthening the
presumption that landing points in Romania and Poland were detainee
drop-off points near to secret detention centers.
“Even if proof, in the classical meaning of the term, is not as yet
available, a number of coherent and converging elements indicate that
such secret detention centers did indeed exist in Europe.” These
elements warranted further investigation, he said. “It is now
clear… that authorities in several European countries actively
participated with the CIA in these unlawful activities. Other countries
ignored them knowingly, or did not want to know,” he said.
Mr Marty said he used evidence from national and international air
traffic control authorities, as well as sources inside intelligence
services, including in the United States, to compile a detailed
picture of a global system of secret detentions and unlawful
transfers – including new analysis revealing what he called “rendition
circuits”. He listed seven Council of Europe member states who could
be held responsible, in varying degrees, which are not always settled
definitively, for violations of the rights of specific individuals:
Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Kingdom, Italy, “the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Germany and Turkey. Several
more colluded, actively or passively, in the detention or transfer
of unknown persons, he said, reported the PACE Communication Unit.

BEELINE CLAIMS FOR ARMENTEL STOCKS
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.06.2006 18:45 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Head of VympelCom press office Yulia Ostroukhova
confirmed that Beeline cellular operator has filed an application
for purchasing 90% of ArmenTel stocks. “All the details are kept
in secret by mutual agreement of the sides. Additional information
will be furnished after summing up the outcomes of the tender,”
Ms. Ostroukhova said, reported Mediamax. AFX Europe agency reported
that OTE Greek company, the owner of 90% of the stocks, has received
8 applications in all.
Besides Beeline, Russian cellular operators MTS and Rostelekom have
announced of their intention to purchase ArmenTel’s stocks.

AZERBAIJAN ASSUMES BSEC PA PRESIDENCY FOR NEXT 6 MONTHS
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.06.2006 18:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Azerbaijan has assumed the presidency in the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Parliamentary Assembly for the next 6
months. Milli Mejlis speaker Oktay Asadov will become the next chairman
of the BSEC PA. The decision was taken at the 27th plenary session of
the General Assembly of the BSEC PA in Yerevan by rotation principle.
Parliamentary delegations from all the BSEC PA member states – Albania,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldavia, Romania,
Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey and Ukraine are taking part in
the session. Representatives of Egyptian National Assembly, French
parliament, the German Bundestag, Israeli Knesset, National Council of
Slovakia and Belarusian National Assembly have the status of observer.
Secretary General of the BSECO International Secretariat Leonidas
Chrisanthopoulos, representatives of the International Center of
Black Sea Studies, the European Parliament and PACE also take part
in the session.

ILS DEVRONT CONTINUER A SE CACHER
Par Olivier Bertrand
liberation, France
mercredi 07 juin 2006
Immigration Alex, 10 ans, et David, 7 ans (Lyon)
Pour Alex et David, les propositions de Nicolas Sarkozy ne changent
rien. Arrives a Lyon en novembre 2005, ces deux ecoliers azeris ne
sont pas nes en France et ils parlent leur langue maternelle. Ils
restent donc expulsables. Leur mère, Samira, a fui l’Azerbaïdjan,
où ses origines armeniennes l’exposaient a des persecutions.
Ayant depose une première demande d’asile (refusee) en Allemagne,
ses garcons ne beneficient meme pas de la treve accordee jusqu’a
la fin de l’annee scolaire. Des parents et des enseignants cachent
donc la famille depuis cinquante jours. Hier, ce reseau restait
très mobilise. Les annonces du ministre de l’Interieur avaient
d’abord leve un vent d’espoir. “Beaucoup de parents nous ont appeles,
confiait Mireille Peloux, responsable locale du Reseau education sans
frontières. Mais nous avons fait les comptes et, malheureusement,
très peu de familles sont concernees.”
–Boundary_(ID_EuOjokHDS9TZmpI4uasH3 w)–

OSKANIAN: EUROPEAN COUNCIL PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE FOR STRENGTHENING ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.06.2006 19:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
met with Mr Edward McMillan-Scott, the Vice-President of the European
Parliament, who is in Yerevan in view of the opening of headquarters
of the International Association of Business and Parliament, reported
the RA MFA press office. The interlocutors noted the activation of
the parliamentary ties between the Armenian National Assembly and
the European Parliament, specifically the sitting of the Armenia-EU
Committee on Parliamentary Cooperation held in April, 2006. Vartan
Oskanian also pointed out to the role of the European Council for the
strengthening of the Armenia-EU bilateral relations. RA NA Vice-speaker
Vahan Hovhannisian was also present at the meeting.

‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITIES’ SOUNDS LIKE OBVIOUS OBLIGATION
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
08/06/2006
Kocharian and Aliyev Are Likely to Meet in Late 2006
The June 4-5 meeting between Armenian president Robert Kocharian and
his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev doesn’t seem to be satisfactory for
both sides. Vartan Oskanian, RA foreign minister, stated yesterday
that the sides failed to come to terms over the same issue that
remained unsettled in Rambouillet. Foreign minister of Azerbaijan
voiced the same opinion about the Bucharest meeting. He said that
the sides didn’t achieve big progress in the course of the Bucharest
negotiations. At the same time, Mamediarov said that the sides agreed
to continue the negotiation process and hold the next meeting at the
level of the foreign ministers, if needed.
Meanwhile, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs pointed out in the
statement made on the June 6 Bucharest meeting that “the peaceful
settlement is still actual and achievable, while 2006 is “a window”
for securing progress.” The co-chairs are sure that the settled
principles they defined for the sides in conflict “secure mutually
acceptable settlement grounds and they express regret that the sides
haven’t come to agreement around those principles, yet.”
As for the activities of the Minsk Group co-chairs, according to
RFE/RL, Steven Mann stated that USA will represent another diplomat to
settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by the rotation principle. Mann
will occupy the position of the US Deputy State Secretary for the
Central and the South Asian states. The change of the co-chair may
have certain impact on the negotiations from the aspect of time,
as the new co-chair will have to study the process. Bedsides, Russia
doesn’t support the rotation of the co-chair.
The Azeri mass media informed that Burdikin, temporary representative
of RF Affairs in Azerbaijan, said that Steven Mann realizes the
peculiarities of two countries and the change of the co-chair in the
course of the president’s meeting “is not a very good step.”
On the other hand, taking into account not very satisfactory evaluation
of the Bucharest meeting, the sides state that another Kocharian-Aliyev
meeting will be held in late 2006. Both Novruz Mamedov, head of
Foreign Relations Department at Azeri President’s Staff, and Victor
Soghomonian, press secretary of RA president, expressed this opinion.
According to PanArmenian.net Victor Soghomonian stated that the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs will meet and give instructions to the foreign
ministers, who will prepare the meeting of the presidents. As for
the probability of signing any agreement during the third meeting
of the presidents in late 2006, none of the sides sees such an
opportunity. Meanwhile Matthew Bryza, deputy US State Secretary for
Europe and Eurasia, stated that the sides in conflict have quite
a trustworthy document for settlement at their disposal, while USA
urges presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to take more efforts to
settle the conflict this year, in the course of “The Oil and Gas of
the Caspian Basin” exhibition in Baku.

AZERBAIJANI MASOCHISM?
By Tamar Minasian
AZG Armenian Daily
08/06/2006
How stupid one should be to torture his people with false
announcements! It transpires that the Azerbaijanis are very skillful
in this. They do not spare Azerbaijani readership and portrait horrific
scenes trampling common ethics.
To make sure one can only search for “revival of our spirit” phrase on
the Internet and find numerous Azerbaijani websites where our neighbors
post descriptions of inhuman deeds ascribing them to Armenian writer
and publicist Zori Balayan.
After 15 years of futile efforts to find inhuman actions on part of
the Armenian freedom fighters, Azeris have decided to accuse Armenians
of made-up cruelties. Many Azeri internet sources allegedly quote
the words of Zori Balayan from his “The Revival of Our Spirit” book:
“… but only an Armenian whose heart was pulled out and thrown into
the fire can feel proud and satisfied reading these lines.
“When Khachatur and I went down to the basement where they were kept
our soldiers had already a child hammered to a window frame by his
elbows… Then I did to this 13 years old Turk what his ancestors
did to our children… He died of hemorrhage in 7 minutes…
Khachatur hacked his body and threw pieces to dogs…”
Citing this extract from our cruel neighbor’s unhealthy fantasy we
want to calm Azeri readers down saying: “The above is a fable of your
countrymen. Zori Balayan has never published such a book.” It’s also
silly to mention the place and date of publication and the pages of
the quotes (Vanadzor, 1996, pages 260-262) to ring true.
Zori Balayan, who is currently aboard “Cilicia” sailing vessel,
wrote a letter. “Many people call me these days asking whether I
have a book published in Vanadzor and titled ‘The Revival of Our
Spirit’. The question is that for already two years people come across
this dirty disinformation, this perfect nonsense, to put it mildly,
which is said to be a sentence from my non-existing book. I want to
say that authors of these false quotes do not understand that first
of all they discredit their own people.
“I demand that those entitled to protect writers’ rights by
investigating such cases to show the readers the book that was
quoted. I am sure that the human rights are not a hollow sound but
a necessary reality of our life and it has to be protected.”

AREN’T MOSCOW LAW ENFORCEMENT BODIES UNAWARE OF ATTACK OF ARMENIAN FAMILY?
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
08/06/2006
Azg informed in its June 6 issue that several dozens of scoundrels
attacked the family of rector Ernest Grigorian, professor of social
sciences, in one of Moscow boroughs. We stated that the city police
was informed about the case, while the Grigorian family was going to
apply to the court.
Yesterday, Regnum agency stated that the information departments of
the Moscow Region’s Police and he Moscow Municipal Police informed
that there are no facts grounding the above information and not a
single complaint on the case was submitted to the police departments.
It’s worth mentioning that at the request of daily Azg the Union of
Armenians of Russia confirmed that the incident really took place,
adding that the Union controls the situation.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SERBIA OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES ABOUT SEPARATION OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
AZG Armenian Daily
08/06/2006
The Parliament of Serbia officially declared about the collapse of
Serbia-Montenegro Federal State. BBC reports that 126 of 250 deputies
of the Serbian Parliament voted for that decision. The members of
the Serbian Radical party, the largest opposition party, didn’t
participate in the sitting.
The state bodies should complete the separation process of Serbia
and Montenegro by elaborating relevant legal acts for receiving new
international legal status for the republic.
According to Serbia-Montenegro charter, Serbia remains the member
of the UN and other international organizations, while Montenegro
should apply for membership. All the federal ambassadors abroad will
be considered the ambassadors of Serbia.
As compared with the official and dull atmosphere at the Serbian
Parliament, in Podgorica the citizens of Montenegro declared
independence in quite festive atmosphere. It’s worth mentioning
that 55,4% of the Montenegro citizens voted for the independence
from Serbia.

‘ONE NATION, ONE CULTURE’ FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH WITH A GREATER GEOGRAPHY
By Gohar Gevorgian
AZG Armenian Daily
08/06/2006
“One Nation, One Culture” festival of the Culture and Youth Affairs
Ministry and One Nation and One Culture Fund will open at the Sport and
Concert Complex on June 23 and will last till June 30. The government
has assigned 117 million AMD for this year’s festival, executive
director of One Nation, One Culture Fund Tamar Poghosian said.
Members of festivals preparatory committee told yesterday’s press
conference that geography of the festival has widened and also the
number of participants has increased. According to RA president’s
aide Vigen Sargsian, last year’s festival drew 1.500 participants
from Armenia and Artsakh but this year the number of participants
from foreign countries alone is one thousand. There will be guest from
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Syria, Lebanon, Bulgaria and France. The state
will cover travel expenses only of guests from Artsakh and Javakhk,
Mrs. Poghosian.
The program of the festival uniting Armenia and the Diaspora as well as
diverse Armenian communities with each other will include such spheres
of culture as theatre, fine arts, dancing, literature and folk art.
Armen Manukian is the art director of the festival and Hrachya
Ashughian and Lusine Martirosian are the stage directors of the
opening and closing ceremonies.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress