IRANIAN ARMENIANS PROTEST AT CASPIAN AIRLINES OFFICE IN TEHRAN

WashingtonTV
http://televisionwashington.c om/floater_article1.aspx?lang=en&t=1&id=12 372
July 23 2009

Washington, 23 July (WashingtonTV)–Armenians in Iran on Wednesday
staged a demonstration in front of the Tehran headquarters of Caspian
Airlines, in protest against the government’s "disregard" over the
deadly 15 July plane crash that killed 168 people.

The demonstrators, who were relatives of the victims of the crash,
called on company officials and Iranian authorities to give a proper
account of the circumstances surrounding the crash and demanded the
resignation of the Minister of Road and Transportation, reports the
BBC Persian service.

During the two-hour demonstration, an Armenian reporter from the
"Yerkir Media" television company was arrested. He was eventually
released hours later, after a number of complaints.

According to Public Radio of Armenia, 48 victims of the crash were
members of the Armenian community in Iran, and another six were
citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

The Russian-built Caspian Airlines Tupolev-154 caught fire in mid-air
en route to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, and plunged into farmland
outside a village in northwest Iran, just 16 minutes after taking off.

Meanwhile, a representative of Caspian Airlines in Yerevan told the
RIA Novosti news agency today that the company had started making
insurance payouts of 54 thousand dollars to the relatives of the
victims of the crash, reports Iran’s state-run Press TV network.

The causes of the crash are still being investigated, and a final
report is expected in about two months.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress