GAGIK TSARUKIAN RECEIVES ANASTASIA GREBYONKINA AND VAZGEN AZROYAN
Noyan Tapan
Apr 17 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Gagik Tsaroukian, the Chairman of
the National Olympic Committee of Armenia received on April 14 figure
skaters Anastasia Grebyonkina and Vazgen Azroyan. Grebyonkina-Azroyan
pair took the 20th place in the dance pairs competition of the 20th
winter Olympiad taken place in Turin. They would be able to take
higher places if there were no referee overlookings. During the long
conversation of the Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of
Armenia and the figure skaters, issues concerning their competition
performances, refereeing were touched upon. G.Tsarukian assured
Grebyonkina and Azroyan that the Olympic Committee will do its best
from its side that Armenia has a referee in high level competitions. It
will give possibility for an unjust attitude is not displayed towards
our sportsmen.

ARMENIA: EUROVISION ENTRY CASUED LOVE AND HATE REACTIONS INSIDE THE COUNTRY
Stella Kosma reporting from Athens (Greece)
Source: Gayane Abrahamyan, armenianow.com
oikotimes.org, Greece
April 18 2006
On May 18th and 20th Armenian pop singer Andre will appear before the
European TV viewing public under the Armenian flag at the Eurovision
international song competition in Athens. He will perform a song
that has become the focus of debate and even political speculation,
even gaining discussion among Parliament Members. Critics say the song
“Without Your Love” does not represent Armenian music and that it is
in fact Arabic or Turkish and that Armenia is pandering to European
tastes by presenting such a song. “If Europe loves it today we serve
it, if it wishes Indian, we will write an Indian one. Armenian is not
in respect, forget it,” says the Chairman of the Union of Composers
of Armenia Robert Amirkhanyan, then dismisses the song as not being
worth his criticism. The music was written by the leader of the State
Jazz Band of Armenia, composer Armen Martirosyan, with instrumental
arrangements by Ara Torosyan (Murzik) and lyrics by Katrin Bekian.
“Yes, Europe is inclined towards Eastern (culture), but we are not
the West either,” says arranger Torosyan. “Armenians have not heard
their folk songs for so long that they don’t differentiate between the
Armenian and the Turkish; this song is a compilation of the European
and the Eastern, just as we are between Europe and the East.
Here there is no deviation from ethnographic music and the Armenian
tune.” Other pop singers view the song as well-suited for the
competition, which is held annually. The winner is selected by means
of phone and SMS messages and the number of votes also decide the top
ten countries to participate automatically in the next year’s finals.
One of the important preconditions is that a country cannot vote for
its own song. “There is no need to make a scandal,” says singer Shushan
Petrosyan. “We have numerous other reasons for talking about Arabic
and Turkish motives in the Armenian pop music; this is not the case,
we just need to be willing and do everything for Andre to win.”
Singer Aramo says he likes the instrumental arrangement of the song
more than the lyrics and the video. Aramo says the song does not fit
Andre somehow, and the East is embellished in the song, which is not
typical to Armenian music.
But conductor Tigran Hekekyan says there is no need to present a
piece of national cultural value in such a festival. He describes
the competition as a “market”, adding that the best chance of winning
is whatever “sells”. Hekekyan also says that the debate over eastern
influence in Armenian music seems a little late. “The song is not born
occasionally, it’s the mirror of a whole cultural layer and there is
a need in discussing the problem of that layer existence and not cling
on one song,” says Hekekyan. Debate on the matter is useless, says the
Chairman of the Board of the Public Television Alexan Harutyunyan,
since he is the one to decide the song and the singer to be sent to
the competition.
“This is the musical competition of the European broadcasters union
and the choice of the song to be presented is ascribed purely to us.
I could make the decision myself but I listened and took the opinion of
the best musicians and (popular music) authorities of the republic,”
says Harutyunyan. And while Armenians are discussing the song,
Azerbaijanis are flooding Andre with threats. A month ago the
Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan addressed a letter to Eurovision
protesting Andre’s participation, citing the fact that the singer
was born in “Nagorno Karabakh Republic” an “occupied territory”
of Azerbaijan. The singer has even gotten death threats on Internet
forum discussions. “Nobody can kill me, they simply envy me,” Andre
told ArmeniaNow. “For me it was more unpleasant at first to hear the
criticism on the Armenian side, but I don’t pay attention to them
either. Let them not listen to my song if they don’t like it.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIS UNIFIED AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM TO HAVE EXERCISES ON APRIL 25
ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 18 2006
MOSCOW, April 18 (Itar-Tass) — The CIS unified air defense system
will have exercises on April 25, a source at the Russian Air Force
press service told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
“The exercises are on the plan approved by the Council of CIS Defense
Ministers. They will involve air force and air defense units of eight
CIS member states, namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine,” the source said.
“About 70 aircraft – MiG-31, Su-24, Su-25, Su-27, A-50 airborne
radar systems, strategic aircraft, and Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters –
will be engaged in the exercises,” he said.

TURKS TAKE PBS TO TASK
By John Eggerton
Broadcasting & Cable, NY
April 18 2006
The Turkish ambassador is taking PBS to task for the program, The
Armenian Genocide, which aired Monday on many member stations.
Ambassador Nabi ªensoy complained Tuesday that the show was “blatantly
one-sided” and reflected “a self-serving political agenda by Armenian
American activists.” PBS has said that, while it agrees with most
historians that the genocide is estabished history, it also wanted
to explore questions surrounding the issue.
Although he praised PBS for holding a panel discussion about the
show immediately after its airing, he said the decision to hold the
panel was “in recognition of the strong bias inherent in “The Armenian
Genocide,” and said some stations did not air the panel, attibuting it
to “Armenian American partisans who embarked on a nationwide campaign
to prevent its airing by PBS affiliates.”
A PBS spokeswoman said that an “overwhelming predominance,” or more
than two thirds, of stations aired the panel, which she said is on
par with other optional shows. Stations also have a broadcast window
of a week or two in which to air PBS shows, so others could air it
later in the week.
“The reason for airing the panel,” said spokeswoman Lea Sloan,
“was to shed more light on a very complex issue. We also specifically
wanted to examine how historians have come to such radically diverging
conclusions about the alleged murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the
Turks in 1915.
6325671.html?display=Breaking+News
–Boundary_(ID _bN2heO4g6bHJmZs3vUdssw)–

HIGH COURT DECLARES YEREVAN HOUSE DEMOLITIONS ILLEGAL
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
April 18 2006
Armenia’s highest court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional the
government-sanctioned demolition of hundreds of old houses in downtown
Yerevan but stopped short of obligating municipal authorities to give
the properties back to their forcibly evicted owners.
The Constitutional Court ruled that a 2002 government decision that
paved the way for the ongoing massive redevelopment in the city center
violated several articles of Armenia’s constitution.
One of those articles stipulates that private property can be
confiscated by the state “only in exceptional cases involving
overriding public interests, in a manner defined by law, and with a
prior commensurate compensation.” The extremely controversial process,
marred allegations of high-level corruption, has only been regulated
by the government directive, however.
Government officials say it is based on provisions of Armenia’s civil
and land codes that give the state greater freedom to confiscate
land against the will of its owners. The Constitutional Court said
that those provisions are also unconstitutional and must be amended
accordingly.
The verdict deals a serious blow to the credibility of the Armenian
government which has insisted all along that large-scale construction
which is rapidly changing central Yerevan is legal and fair.
Hundreds of local residents have been forced to vacate their mostly
decrepit houses over the past two years. Many of them are unhappy
with the amount of compensation paid to them by the state, saying
that it was set well below the market value of their properties as a
result of government corruption. Some have resisted eviction orders
with hunger strikes and other extreme methods of struggle.
Their demands have been backed by human rights activities, opposition
politicians and prominent public figures. Armenia’s former human rights
ombudsperson, Larisa Alaverdian, was also vocal in her support for
their cause, filing an appeal to the Constitutional Court shortly
before her resignation last January. Alaverdian’s pro-government
successor, Armen Harutiunian, unexpectedly decided to stand by the
appeal in February.
The court decision seems to be a largely moral victory for the
disgruntled evicted residents as it is unlikely to entail any practical
consequences. The court only ordered the Armenian government and
parliament to bring the relevant legislation into conformity with
the constitution and said nothing about property restitution or
compensation.
The ruling was read out by Constitutional Court Chairman Gagik
Harutiunian after five hours of deliberations by the panel of nine
judges appointed by President Robert Kocharian and the National
Assembly. It followed the final court hearing which saw Armen
Harutiunian and Justice Minister David Harutiunian (no relation),
who fought the government’s corner, make their concluding remarks.
The justice minister, whose close relatives are reportedly involved in
the redevelopment project, claimed that forcible house demolitions are
a normal practice around the world. “How do cities and towns around
the world develop?” he said. “In accordance with architectural master
plans which can serve as the basis for alienating property.”
The human rights ombudsman, for his part, reiterated his view that
the government has no legal right to single-handedly deprive Armenian
citizens of their property. “Such matters are regulated by law,”
he said. “Therefore they are the prerogative of the parliament,
not the government.”
(Photolur photo: Gagik Harutiunian speaking during the final court
hearing.)

ARMENIAN TAX COLLECTION ON TRACK
By Atom Markarian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep
April 18 2006
Armenian tax authorities reported on Tuesday an almost 23 percent
increase in the amount of taxes collected by them in the first
quarter of this year, putting the government on track to meet its
2006 budgetary targets.
Felix Tsolakian, head of the State Taxation Service (STS), told
President Robert Kocharian that his agency’s January-March revenues
totaled 42.3 billion drams ($94 million).
A statement by Kocharian’s office said that particularly significant
has been a rise in proceeds from the collection of corporate and
individual income taxes which have long been grossly underreported in
Armenia. It cited Tsolakian as saying that STS is currently tracking
suspected delinquent companies whose “paid taxes are not commensurate
with the scale of their activities.” No details were reported.
The Armenian customs similarly said earlier this month that it has met
its first-quarter revenue target. Both the State Customs Committee and
STS are under strong pressure to ensure the successful execution of the
government’s record-high budget for 2006 which is due to pass the $1
billion mark for the first time in Armenia’s post-Soviet history. It
calls for a 22 percent increase in the still modest public spending.
The tax and customs bodies had already boosted their revenues by 22
percent to 304 billion drams last year. The sum is worth only 14.4
percent of Armenia’s 2005 Gross Domestic Product. The proportion is
very low even by ex-Soviet standards and highlights the continuing
large scale of tax evasion in the country.
One of the ways of combating the practice was supposed to be the
mandatory declaration by state officials of their incomes and
other assets, which was introduced several years ago. According to
Tsolakian’s deputy Armen Alaverdian, as many as 49,000 of them filed
income declaration to STS before the April 15 deadline.
Alaverdian admitted that the procedure has made little difference as
many of the high-level officials grossly underreport their assets. He
complained that Armenia’s law on financial disclosure does not envisage
tough sanctions against such individuals.
The problem was also discussed during Kocharian’s meeting with
Tsolakian. The presidential statement said Kocharian stressed the
need to “further clarify mechanisms” for punishing those officials
who file false financial statements.

EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE SOUTH CAUCASUS TO VISIT BAKU ON 21 APRIL
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 18 2006
The European Union delegation will be visiting Azerbaijan from April
21 to 23. The Azerbaijani permanent representative office in EU told
APA that the objective of the visit is to agree on the Action Plan
in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy Program.
An official of the representative office told that main discussions
will be held in May when the EU delegates will visit first
Armenia, Georgia and then Azerbaijan. The EU mission is composed of
representatives of the EU Board, European Commission, EU presidency,
Austria, which chairs the EU as well as representatives of Finland,
which will chair the organization for the next term. The EU special
representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby is also in the
mission.
The Foreign Ministry told APA that the visitors will have talks with
President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, other
high ranking state officials as well as meet opposition parties and
NGOs representatives.
The European diplomats will hold a press conference on 22 April.

OSKANIAN: “CO-CHAIRS HOLD DISCUSSIONS WITH BOTH SIDES TO ORGANIZE THE PRESIDENTS MEETINGS”
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 18 2006
“OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen hold discussions with both sides to
organize meetings of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Armenian
foreign minister Vardan Oskanian has told journalists.(APA)
According to him, it is too early to say anything about the date of
the next meetings of Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan. “Holding
of meetings between the presidents would be efficient then when
mediators’ visits to the region had positive results. If the situation
in Rambouillet talks is not changed, the next meetings between the
presidents will not be efficient.”

SAFAROV TO SERVE HIS SENTENCE IN HUNGARY AND LEAVE
Lragir.am
18 April 06
The investigation and trial of the case involving Azerbaijani Ramil
Safarov who had hacked to death the Armenian army officer Gurgen
Margaryan in Budapest in January 2004 lasted for two years. The
verdict was passed April 13, 2006. Ramil Safarov was sentenced to
life imprisonment, 30 years without the right for pardon.
On April 18 Nazeli Vardanyan, Gurgen Margaryan’s attorney, announced
in Yerevan that till the last day of the trial the Azerbaijanis tried
their hardest to have doctors certify Safarov as an insane. However,
the efforts of Azerbaijanis failed. Both the district attorney and
our lawyers, relying on the evidence – an axe bought beforehand,
the ethnic motivation of the murder, an attempt of murder, etc. –
were able to prove that the assassin had acted upon a plan, was
conscious of what he was doing, and was sane. In his final speech
the murderer did not plead guilty; he said he had lost self-control,
did not want to kill, had not planned a murder.
The justice did not believe either this, or Safarov’s words that he
did not speak Russian well and denied his own testimony uttered in
Russian. The Hungarian court was surprised to learn that a cold-blooded
killer could be proclaimed Year’s Person.
The Armenian lawyers say it was the triumph of European justice and
human values, and more than just a defeat for Azerbaijan. The court
administered the harshest punishment the Hungarian laws provide for.
Safarov will serve his sentence in Hungary, at a maximum-security
penitentiary. Even if Azerbaijan succeeds in signing with Hungary an
agreement on extradition, it will not be applied to Safarov. “By the
end of the investigation there was a decision of the district attorney
to transfer the case to a Baku court. We prevented it. They have been
consistently trying to transfer the case to Baku. Presently there is
no agreement yet.” If the 30 years in the verdict pass, and Safarov,
who will be 60 by then, is pardoned, he will be banished from Hungary
and will have no right to enter this country for 10 years.
The Armenian party sued material and moral damages, 3.5 million and 5
million Hungarian forints respectively. All in all 8.5 million forints,
which is about 160 thousand euros.
The hearing of the case involving Ramil Safarov who had attacked the
officers of the remand prison in Budapest is scheduled in May.

ROUXBAIX FUTSAL WILL RETURN TO THE UEFA FUTSAL CUP FOR THE 2006/07 EDITION AFTER CLAIMING THEIR THIRD FRENCH TITLE IN A ROW
uefa.com, Switzerland
April 18 2006
Final glory
The northern club were 6-5 winners in Beauvais against
Issy-les-Moulineaux Futsal in a repeat of the 2005 final. It means
the club will again be France’s representatives in Europe’s premier
club competition, having been involved in this year’s preliminary
round. The 2005/06 UEFA Futsal Cup was the first time a team from
France had entered the competition and it was a major step forward
for French Futsal.
High hopes
In a four-team mini-tournament played in England, Roubaix failed to win
any of their three matches against Tal Grig Yerevan of Armenia, hosts
London White Bear FC and Dinamo Tirana of Albania but expect better
things next time around. “Last year we were only discovering the UEFA
Futsal Cup, now we expect to improve,” said coach Nordine Benmarouche.
Top team
Only formed in 2002, Roubaix were regional champions of the north
within two years and quickly became the nation’s top team. However,
they were always rated as outsiders in the London mini-tournament
last September, but hinted at a major shock when David Vieira gave
them a seventh-minute lead against favourites Yerevan in their first
match. However, the Armenian champions eventually won 7-2, and London
defeated Roubaix 6-0. All but out, Roubaix then faced Tirana and
lost 5-1.