ArmenPress
April 1 2004

ARMENIAN DIPLOMATS CONTINUE EFFORTS FOR RELEASE OF SIX PILOTS

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign ministry said
Wednesday it is continuing efforts to secure the release of six
Armenian pilots arrested in Equatorial Guinea in early March on
charges of involvement in an alleged plot to overthrow the president
of the West African country.
The ministry said Armenia’s permanent representative to the UN,
Armen Martirosian met on Tuesday with Tiliameni Kalomoh, an aide to
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan who visited Equatorial Guinea last
week. During the meeting Mr. Kalomoh informed the Armenian side about
his March 25 meeting with A. Karapetian, the commander of the
Armenian crew detained in the capital Malabo, noting that the
Armenian pilot denied any involvement of his crew in the attempted
coup d’etat. The UN Secretary General’s aide also said that he had
urged the Guinean authorities to refrain from violating the rights of
the arrested people and was assured that they will not be mistreated.
The foreign ministry also said it has asked the Guinean
authorities to allow Armenian diplomats to visit the country and is
waiting for their reply.