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05/08/2006
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1) Victory Day Marked on Anniversary of Shushi’s Liberation
2) Reed Amendment Reaffirms Parity in Defense Department Assistance to Armenia
And Azerbaijan
3) ARS Celebrates Armenian Culture at 5th Annual Festival
4) Turkey Recalls Envoys in France, Canada
5) Organizations Visit Armenian Consulate to Offer Condolences
6) Armenian Weightlifter Wins Gold Medal at European Championship

1) Victory Day Marked on Anniversary of Shushi’s Liberation

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)Tuesday, May 9, marks the 14th anniversary of the
liberation of Karabagh’s second largest city, Shushi. To mark this day,
members
of the Yerkrapah Union of Karabagh War Veterans will commemorate the soldiers
who gave their lives to the Karabagh war.
Flowers and wreaths will be placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the
Yeraplur cemetery where many of the fallen soldiers were placed to rest.
A military parade will then take place in Yerevan’s Republic Square and in
the
evening a holiday concert and fireworks will be held in Victory Park.
The Yerkrapah Union began marking this day after Armenian troops liberated
Shushi in 1992.

2) Reed Amendment Reaffirms Parity in Defense Department Assistance to Armenia
And Azerbaijan

WASHINGTON, DC–In a legislative reaffirmation of the 2001 agreement between
Congress and the White House to maintain military aid parity to Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) secured this week the adoption of an
amendment adding Armenia to the list of nations receiving Department of
Defense
counter-drug assistance, reported the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA).
Commenting to the ANCA following the adoption of his amendment, Senator Reed
said, “I am pleased that the Senate Armed Services Committee recognized the
importance of providing military aid to Armenia for training and equipment in
light of its decision to provide funding to Azerbaijan. It is essential that
we maintain parity between the two nations, and I am happy that my amendment
was accepted.”
The amendment was offered by the Senator, a senior members of the Armed
Services Committee, to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2007 (S.2507). The measure added Armenia to the list of eligible nations
for a
Defense Department counter-drug assistance program. Azerbaijan was among the
nations listed in the original version of the Authorization bill authored by
Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA).
The Armed Services Committee report advises the Defense Department that the
panel “expects that the authority granted in this section will be administered
in the spirit of maintaining current military parity between Azerbaijan and
Armenia.” The Committee report language refers to the agreement between
Congress and the White House in 2001 to maintain military aid parity between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 2001, Congress granted the President limited
waiver
authority over Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which restricts US
assistance to Azerbaijan as long as it continues to blockade Armenia and
Karabagh, with the understanding that the Administration will not provide more
military assistance to Azerbaijan than to Armenia.
“We join with the Armenian American community of Rhode Island in thanking
Senator Reed for helping to ensure parity in the provision of US defense
assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. “We will, in the coming weeks, continue to share with legislators
in both houses of Congress the negative implications for peace and regional
stability of the Administration’s ill-advised proposal to break the military
aid parity agreement that has been in force for the past five years.”
The House Armed Services Committee has also finalized its version of the
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2007 (HR 5122), which does
include Azerbaijan, but not Armenia as an eligible country. The two versions
of the bill will eventually be reconciled after passage in both chambers. The
ANCA will urge the conference committee to accede to the amended Senate
version
of this provision, and, more broadly, to work toward overall military aid
parity to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

3) ARS Celebrates Armenian Culture at 5th Annual Festival

The fifth annual Armenian Relief Society – Western Region (ARS-WR) Armenian
Cultural and Food Festival was held Saturday and Sunday at the Glendale Civic
Auditorium. ARS Regional Executive chairman Angela Savoian made the opening
statements and officially kicked off the event Saturday afternoon.
The Festival ended Sunday evening, with several thousand community members in
attendance. The festival featured traditional Armenian dancing, music, art,
and
other cultural activities.

4) Turkey Recalls Envoys in France, Canada

ANKARA (AFP/AP)–Turkey has temporarily recalled its ambassadors to France and
Canada for consultations, the Foreign Ministry announced Monday, to protest
moves in both countries that recognize the Armenian genocide.
“Our ambassador in Paris, Osman Koruturk, and our ambassador in Ottawa,
Aydemir Erman, have been recalled to Ankara for a short time for consultations
on the latest developments,” the foreign ministry said in a brief statement.
“We foresee that our ambassadors will return to their duties after the
consultations,” it said.
The diplomatic move was Turkey’s latest outburst against increasing
international pressure on Turkey to recognize the genocide of Armenians during
World War I.
Last week, Turkey warned France that bilateral ties would suffer “irreparable
damage” if the French Parliament passes a bill making it a punishable offense
to “deny the existence of the 1915 Armenian genocide.”
If approved, the bill would provide for one year in prison and a 45,000 Euro
(57,000 dollar) fine for any person who denies that the 1915-1917 massacres of
Armenians were genocide.
The bill, which follows a 2001 French law officially recognizing the
Genocide,
was proposed by members of the opposition Socialist Party (PS) and will have
its first reading before Parliament on May 18.
Turkey was also angered when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
reaffirmed
the Armenian genocide in a statement praising commemorations of the 91st
anniversary of the Genocide on April 24.
The Turkish foreign ministry said at the time that Harper’s words were
“appalling” and would “negatively affect” bilateral ties.
In 2002, the Canadian Senate recognized the Armenian genocide as the first
genocide of the 20th century and the House of Commons followed suit two years
later.

5) Organizations Visit Armenian Consulate to Offer Condolences

Representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Hamazkayin,
and
Homenetmen visited Friday the Armenian Consulate of Los Angeles to personally
offer their condolences to Armenian Consul General Gagik Giragossian for last
week’s tragic crash of the Armavia Airline.
The delegation included ARF Central Committee members Hovig Saliba, Avedik
Izmirlian, Arto Keuleyan, and Dikran Sassounian, Hamazkayin representative
Hrair Sherikian, and Homenetmen representative Sako Garabedian.

6) Armenian Weightlifter Wins Gold Medal at European Championship

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Gevorg Davtian, a weightlifter from Gyumri, Armenia, won
the gold medal at the European championship in Vladislavovo, Poland. His
combined result was 360 kg.
The 77 kg Davtian became the third Armenian athlete to win the gold at a
European championship this year. Armenian athletes also won 4 silver and 2
bronze medals this year in shooting, weightlifting, and Greco-Roman wrestling.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress