Los Angeles Daily News
Aug 19 2005
L.A. Council starts early on summer recess
Quorum of 10 not expected to attend today’s meeting
By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles City Council may get an early start on its summer
recess, with today’s meeting expected to be canceled for lack of a
quorum.
With two vacancies on the 15-member council, it has become
increasingly difficult in recent weeks to get at least 10 members for
the quorum required to do business.
Today’s meeting would have been the last before the council’s annual
two-week recess, but four of the remaining 13 members did not expect
to attend.
Councilman Eric Garcetti might be the only one of the four off on
official city business, traveling to Armenia as part of the Sister
City program.
Councilmen Ed Reyes, Greig Smith and Jack Weiss all are off for an
early start of vacations or for undisclosed reasons.
“(Reyes) regrets it, but he had made plans that couldn’t be changed
and was previously excused,” spokesman Tony Perez said.
Smith also had received approval to be absent from the meeting, but
spokesman Mitch Englander would not say whether he would be away on
vacation or on city business.
Weiss spokeswoman Lisa Hansen said he was out of town and had been
given permission to miss the meeting several weeks ago.
Council President Alex Padilla, who is acting mayor while Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa is on a Hawaiian vacation with his family, said
he had expected problems getting a quorum with fewer council members.
“It’s one of those things,” Padilla said. “With a number of people
out of town, we were afraid this would happen. We had dealt with most
of the important issues before now. But it’s a constant problem to
make sure we have enough members present for any given meeting.”
Former Councilman Villaraigosa’s election as mayor left his council
seat vacant. Former Councilman Martin Ludlow left to become
secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Council members, who are each paid $143,838 a year, traditionally
take the two weeks before Labor Day as a recess, as well as two weeks
around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

President Warns Next Round of Peace Talks May Be Fruitless
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
President Ilham Aliyev has made an unexpected statement concerning
the next round of Armenia-Azerbaijan talks on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict resolution.
“Peace talks have been fruitless. Therefore, we should be ready for
anything”, Aliyev said while visiting the western Oghuz district
on Thursday.
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are due to meet in Kazan, Russia
August 26.
President Aliyev said that this situation prompts Azerbaijan to further
raise military expenses and thus increase its military power compared
to Armenia.

Armenia Dismisses Reports on Azeri Officer’s Capture
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
The Armenian defense ministry has dismissed media reports saying that
an Azeri serviceman was taken captive, Armenian media reported.
According to the Azerbaijan State Commission on Prisoners of War,
Hostages and Missing Persons, the Yerevan office of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) informed the organization’s
Baku office on Monday that 22-year-old Azeri warrant officer Ramin
Khudaverdiyev was captured by Armenia.
The ICRC representatives in Yerevan visited Khudaverdiyev on
Wednesday. The Azeri officer passed on to them a letter to be forwarded
to his parents.

Kathimerini, Greece
Aug 19 2005
Plane attempted to land
Civil Aviation Authority set to face criticism over apparent
inactivity
KATIA CHRISTODOULOU
Candles and flowers were placed outside the Armenian Church in
Nicosia yesterday as a memorial service was held for the 121 people
killed in Sunday’s Helios Airways crash. A couple and their two
children, all members of the Armenian community in Cyprus, were among
the dead. Seven more bodies recovered from the crash site north of
Athens were buried in Cyprus yesterday. DNA samples from the
relatives of those killed are due to be sent today from Nicosia to
Athens to help coroners with the task of identifying some of the
bodies from the crash.
The doomed Helios Airways plane twice tried to land at Athens
International Airport before running out of fuel and crashing into a
mountainside north of Athens on Sunday, according to official
documents, prompting questions about a possible delay in response
from the Greek Civil Aviation Authority.
Investigators are still combing the scene of the crash in Grammatiko,
some 40 kilometers north of Athens, for clues as to what caused the
accident, in which all 121 passengers and crew members on board were
killed.
However, aviation documents obtained by SKAI Radio seem to indicate
that after entering Greek air space, the plane circled around islands
east of Athens, including Kea, but that someone on board attempted to
land the plane on two separate occasions.
The pilots of the two F-16 Greek air force jets that were dispatched
to monitor the situation after radio contact with the aircraft proved
impossible, said they saw the co-pilot slumped over the controls of
the plane and the captain missing from his seat, but noticed two
other figures in the cockpit. One theory is that a stand-in member of
the cabin crew, trained pilot Andreas Prodromou, and his air hostess
girlfriend Haris Charalambous, tried to wrestle control of the plane
and land it in Athens.
The fighter jets were sent out after the Greek Civil Aviation
Authority classified the plane as “renegade,” meaning there was a
possibility it had been hijacked. However, the authority looks set to
come in for criticism over a period of apparent inactivity while the
plane was in Greek air space.
The plane entered Greek air space at around 9.30 a.m. but air-traffic
controllers did not make any attempt to contact it until almost 40
minutes later. Sources told Kathimerini that military authorities
were first informed of the possibility of a “renegade” aircraft at
10.24 a.m. but 23 minutes later told them that the plane was
experiencing a problem which the crew was trying to fix. The F-16s
eventually took off a few minutes later.
The investigation into the crash has been inconclusive so far, but
after a meeting in Athens yesterday Cypriot President Tassos
Papadopoulos said that he and Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had
agreed to speed up the probe. Meanwhile, sources told Kathimerini
that CIA experts who examined the scene have ruled out the
possibility that the plane had been tampered with, including by
terrorists.
Meanwhile, results of toxicological tests on some of the bodies
recovered are expected today and should give a better idea of
conditions inside the plane before the crash, especially if those on
board had inhaled toxic substances.

PACE President Starts Tour of S Caucasus
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) Rene van Der Linden started his tour of the South Caucasus
region in Armenia on Thursday.
Linden will hold official and informal meetings in Yerevan to discuss
the political situation in Armenia and this country’s commitments to
the Council of Europe.
The PACE President, who will then leave for Tbilisi, is due in
Baku on August 21. He will meet with President Ilham Aliyev, Prime
Minister Artur Rasizada, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and
representatives of the Azeri delegation at PACE. Linden will also
meet with representatives of human rights organizations.

Official Calls on Opposition to Seek Support from People
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
The fact that well-known opposition representatives have nominated
their candidacies from Baku is not accidental, says deputy chairman
of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.
“This is due not of their ‘social base’ but the fact that most
representatives from international organizations are likely to
observe the November parliamentary elections in the capital city,”
deputy chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, MP Ali Ahmadov has
said. “The opposition candidates hope for the support of international
organizations rather than voters.”
Ahmadov said that such a position of the opposition is completely
erroneous and harmful. “The individuals, who love their motherland and
people, should try to get support of their people, but not foreign
forces and international organizations. I think the incident around
Ruslan Bashirli should teach them a lesson”.
The Yeni Fikir youth movement chairman Bashirli is charged with
plotting with Armenian intelligence to stage a coup in Azerbaijan.

3 Azeri Soldiers Face Criminal Charges
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
Three Azerbaijani soldiers accused of high treason and forging ties
with Armenian servicemen while serving at a military unit in Terter
District, northwest Azerbaijan, will be held criminally accountable,
military prosecutor Khanlar Valiyev told a news conference on Thursday.
Valiyev said that Ruslan Bakirov, Hikmat Taghiyev and Khayal Abdullayev
forged relations with Armenian military men and voluntarily entered
the territory controlled by Armenian forces. While in the so-called
‘captivity’, they informed Armenia of the number of weaponry units
and ammunition at their military unit and disclosed some confidential
information.
Earlier reports said that the three soldiers were taken captive
by Armenia on February 15 after loosing their way and accidentally
passing to the Armenian side of the frontline.

PACE President Tours South Caucasus
Civil Georgia, Georgia
Aug 19 2005
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE), René van der Linden, will arrive in Georgia on August 20 from
the Armenian capital of Yerevan as a part of his South Caucasian
tour. After visiting Georgia the PACE President will also travel
to Azerbaijan.
According to the PACE press release, Linden will hold talks with
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli, Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Mikheil
Machavariani as well as representatives of the parliamentary opposition
and civil society.
The constitutional situation, the independence of the judiciary,
freedom of expression and association and the media will be discussed
during his visit.
–Boundary_(ID_NvJk/dKzaKpzDMGaxFGqeg)–

Political Analyst Expects No Results from Azeri, Armenian Presidents’ Meeting
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 19 2005
A political scholar sees no grounds for expecting positive results
from the upcoming meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in
Kazan, Russia.
“The meeting will not be any more important than the previous ones,”
analyst Rasim Musabayov told AssA-Irada.
Musabayov said the previous meeting of the two presidents held in
Key West, USA yielded no results despite its high level.
“I believe the chances for results at Kazan meeting are 50-50. It
may be fruitful or fruitless. The previous experience shows that the
sides tend to take final steps backward instead of forward when they
reach the decisive point. Therefore, I can’t say ahead of time that
the meeting will be beneficial,” he said.
Musabayov said the current positions of the conflicting sides are
contradictory, as Azerbaijan calls for withdrawal of Armenian forces
from the occupied territories, while Armenia – determination of the
Nagorno Karabakh status.
“From this viewpoint, the positions of the sides are not getting any
closer. If a compromise alternative is found, the issue can be moved
forward from the current deadlock,” Musabayov said.
As for the liberation of seven occupied districts around Karabakh,
the analyst said freeing them simultaneously will be difficult.
“Liberation of the occupied regions based on the ‘5+1+1’ formula
seems real,” he said.
The formula envisions freeing five Azeri regions from under Armenian
occupation first, followed by signing of a peace accord and liberation
of the other two regions.
Musabayov went on to say that the general situation with the Karabakh
conflict has changed in favor of Azerbaijan over the recent period.
Russia’s positions in the South Caucasus are weakening, this
country’s military bases are being withdrawn from Georgia, while
Armenia is losing communication links with Russia, which is in favor
of Azerbaijan, he said. Armenia is concerned over this, said Musabayov.
“Russia, which is the eternal ally of Armenia, understands too that
it will lose its positions in the Caucasus by prolonging the conflict
resolution.”
Musabayov said that another factor stipulating Azerbaijan’s prevalent
position is that the country’s financial potential is increasing.
Whereas military spending of Armenia makes up $200 million per year,
the figure is $300 million in Azerbaijan.
The political analyst pointed out that Azerbaijan’s potential will
allow spending $500 million for the military in 2006 and bringing
the figure to $1 billion in two years.
Armenia would have to commit its entire budget for defense in order
to withstand competition, which is impossible, he said.
“Armenians therefore think they should take a step today rather than
be forced to accept peace in a few years. These are the factors giving
a positive impetus to peace. But it is difficult to say whether this
will be enough for Armenia to give up its persistence,” he added.

ECONOMIC PROGRAM OF “DASHNAKTSUTYUN” APPROVED BY TWO MINISTRIES IN ARMENIA
YEREVAN, AUGUST 17. ARMINFO. ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau has elaborated
an economic program aiming security of growth of export from Armenia,
Adviser for Economic Affairs of ARFD Bureau Ara Nranyamn informs
ARMINFO.
Growth of exports is the only opportunity to considerably and
comparatively rapidly increase GDP in Armenia, as the possibilities
of the internal market are exhausted, Nranyan thinks. He says
that Dashnaktsutyun has sent the draft with specific proposals on
increase of exports to all the competent bodies and party offices
of the country, including opposition ones. The document has already
received high assessment of the Ministry for trade and Economic
Development, Ministry of Energy and Customs Service. He says the
elaborated proposals do not provide for quotation or other limitation
of imported production. Nranyan promised to submit the draft to the
public consideration in September 2005.