Author: Chakrian Hovsep

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 8 2006

Azeri leader sees Armenia as regional threat

Baku, May 5, AssA-Irada

There are problems hampering peace and security in the region and
fight against international terrorism is among them, President Ilham
Aliyev told the 9th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in
Baku Friday.
The president said Azerbaijan was in favor of joining the forces of
the whole world in combating this global evil because not a single
country can cope with terrorism on its own.
`The international community should not draw any distinctions between
terrorist organizations of the world,’ he stressed.
The head of state added that Azerbaijan too was a victim of
terrorism. Aliyev said Armenian terrorist organizations had
masterminded more than 30 acts of terror against Azerbaijani
interests, which claimed the lives of over 2,000 people. The
president said further that the biggest problem impeding regional
cooperation was the continuing Armenian aggression against
Azerbaijan.
Aliyev told the summit participants that Azerbaijan was interested in
resolving the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict in peace.
`We think it is still possible to resolve the conflict peacefully.
Therefore, we have to explore all possible avenues. But at the same
time, the patience of the Azerbaijani people is not boundless,’
Aliyev said.
The president called on all ECO member-states to support Azerbaijan’s
cause. He said the development of mankind would be ensured thanks to
low risks, successful economic cooperation and energy security. He
said member-countries of the organization were located in a very
important and sensitive region, but also pointed to regional threats.
Aliyev stressed the importance of cooperation under such
circumstances.
`I have no doubt that the ECO will fulfill its mission with dignity.
Bilateral and
multilateral cooperation between member countries will be in the
interests of the whole region,’ Aliyev said.*

Investigators probe causes of Armenian air accident

Agence France Presse — English
May 6, 2006 Saturday

Experts met Saturday with the air traffic controller who was on duty
at Sochi airport in Russia when an Armenian plane crashed, killing 113,
on Tuesday night, to look into what caused the disaster.

The specialists “decyphered the recorded conversations between the
pilots and air traffic control,” a spokeswoman for Armenian Civil
Aviation told AFP.

She did not give any further details on what the conversations
revealed, stating only that “the investigation is continuing.”

Initial data from the enquiry suggest that bad weather caused the
accident.

The Armavia Airlines plane, an Airbus A320, probably either came
down when heavy rain forced a loss of speed, or was actually struck
by lightning, according to Dmitri Adbachian, a former Soviet pilot
who now heads an Armenian association of aviation specialists.

The bodies of 32 of the dead passengers have been taken to Yerevan,
Armenian Civil Aviation confirmed, with a further seven to be sent
on Saturday night.

Rescuers have so far only found 51 bodies and seven of these have
not yet been identified, Sergei Aristov, Russia’s deputy transport
minister, said on television.

“The search will continue until it is deemed to be hopeless”, Aristov
said. He nevertheless asked relations of the dead who had come to
Sochi to return to Armenia.

In addition to the crash near Sochi, another Armavia A320 was destroyed
early on Friday morning when a hangar at Brussels airport caught fire.

Armavia announced Saturday that it would replace the two planes it
lost this week by leasing new ones from Airbus, one of which would
“probably” be an A319.

The company is also taking delivery of a new Airbus made in 2005 at
the end of this month, so that its fleet will effectively be increased
by one to six aircraft.

Iranian expert warns poll ‘could lead to Garabagh’s cessation’

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 4 2006

Baku, May 3, AssA-Irada — An Iranian expert has said Azerbaijan
“could lose its territories” currently under Armenian occupation if
it agrees to the conduct of a referendum in Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
to determine its status in the future.

“The Garabagh Armenians will undoubtedly vote for the cessation of
the region from Azerbaijan,” Jalal Muhammadli warned.

“Nowhere in the world an issue like territorial integrity could be
solved through a referendum. It could be solved only by power and
strength,” the analyst said in an interview with AssA-Irada.

Muhammadli advised the West, which has been advocating for a vote
to determine the Upper Garabagh status, to use this option instead
to determine the status of Basques who have been active in Spain for
many years.

“It was such a referendum that led to the separation of the present-day
Bahrain from Iran in 1967,” the embassy representative added.*

Greek American Membership Organizations’ 2006 Policy Statement on Armenia

_ l?newsid=5023&lang=US_
( =5023&lang=US)

WASHINGTON, DC– American Hellenic Institute president Gene Rossides
announced today that the major Greek American membership organizations
endorsed the 2006 policy statement on Armenia. Prepared by the
American Hellenic Institute, it is part of the 2006 Greek American
Policy Statements. The major membership organizations are: the
Order of AHEPA, the Hellenic American National Council, the Cyprus
Federation of America, the Panepirotic Federation of America, the
Pan-Macedonian Association of America, the PanCretan Association
of America, the Pan-Pontian Federation of U.S.A. and Canada and the
American Hellenic Institute. The endorsed statement follows:

Armenia

We support the Armenian American community’s efforts to secure full
recognition, proper commemoration, and a just resolution of the
Armenian Genocide.

In 2006, the 91st anniversary of the Genocide, the Administration
should, for the sake of U.S. interests and American values, finally
bring an end to all forms of U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of
this crime against all humanity. The President, in his annual April
24th remarks, should properly recognize the Armenian Genocide as a
clear instance of genocide, as defined by the United Nations Genocide
Convention. In addition, the Administration should refrain from taking
punitive actions against diplomats, such as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, who have spoken truthfully about the Armenian Genocide.

The U.S. Congress should adopt legislation both recognizing the
Armenian Genocide and urging the American people to apply the lessons
of this tragedy to the cause of preventing future genocides.

Finally, Turkey must be pressured to acknowledge its genocidal crime
against the Armenian nation, to come to terms with this chapter in
its history, and, consistent with the Genocide Convention and other
relevant international legal instruments, to make full reparations
to the Armenian people.

We also support efforts to press Turkey to lift its illegal blockade
of Armenia and to end the mistreatment of the Armenian population
in Turkey.

We refer readers to Professor Peter Balakian’s recent book The Burning
Tigris, a remarkable history of the Armenian Genocide by the Young
Turk government in Turkey. Professor Balakian includes the details
of the humanitarian movement of leading American public citizens
and ordinary citizens to save the Armenians.

MONUMENT TO CRASH VICTIMS TO BE INAUGURATED IN SOCHI

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 18:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Friday Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin
told journalists that a monument to the A-320 crash victims will be
inaugurated in Sochi. “The decision was taken by the request of the
relatives of the killed. The Mayor promised to decide the site within
shortest terms. The Governor of the Krasnodar region supported the
initiative,” Levitin said. “This will be the place where the relatives
of the killed can come to revere their memory,” he added.

SEARCH WORKS SUSPENDED FOR PERIOD OF MOURNING EVENTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.05.2006 19:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The search works at the crash site were suspended
for the period of mourning events.

Catamarans “Globus” and “Dagomys” will approach the place where
the plane crashed and the relatives of the killed, heads of the
governmental commissions, Russian Minister of Transport Igor Levitin
and Armenian Foreign Minister Serge Sargsyan will lower wreaths
on the water. Then they will be conveyed to Adler where a mourning
liturgy will be chanted for the commemoration of the killed. Services
for those killed in the crash will be held in the Armenian Churches
throughout the globe.

THE UKRAINE HAS NOT LOST INTEREST IN IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE

Panorama.am
15:03 04/05/06

The Ukraine is interested in the construction of Iran-Armenia gas
pipeline, the Ukrainian Ambassador Alexander Bojko told a news
conference today in the National Press Club. According to him,
alternative sources of energy are important for the Ukraine.

“However, the Ukraine needs billions to participate in the project
and without the financial support of the European banks that is not
possible,” he said.

Speaking about higher tariffs on gas, A. Bojko noted that gas is a
serious matter both for Armenia and the Ukraine. According to him,
giving the 5th energy block of Hrazdan thermo power plant to Russia
was forced and the government should take the responsibility for
it.

‘THE WOMEN ARE HOME CRYING, THE MEN WAITING’
By Mike Eckel, Adler

Irish Examiner, Ireland
May 4 2006

BOATS laden with dead bodies and twisted metal sailed into the
palm-fringed harbour of Sochi, Russia, yesterday, carrying the remains
of some of the 113 people who died when an Armenian airliner smashed
into the Black Sea.

The plane went down about 2.15am (11.15pm Irish time) in heavy rain
and poor visibility, as it was approached Adler airport in Adler,
about 12 miles south of Sochi, a city wedged between the sea and
soaring snow-capped mountains.

The cause of the crash was not immediately determined and divers were
attempting to retrieve the Airbus A-320’s recorders from the deep,
wave-chopped crash site about 3.5 miles offshore.

A spokeswoman for the Russian prosecutor general’s office, Nataliya
Vishnyakova, dismissed the possibility of terrorism and other officials
pointed to the rough weather or pilot error as the likely cause of
the crash

Rescue boats battled stiff winds and heavy seas to try to retrieve
bodies and fragments of the plane, which was leased by Armavia,
Armenia’s largest airline.

By late afternoon, 46 bodies had been brought into the port and taken
to the city’s two morgues for identification.

Outside one of the morgues, about 100 stood grimly, rushing forward
every time a truck carrying remains pulled up to the gates. “People
want to know anything just now, anything,” said 38-year-old Aryag
Ghagosian, who said a friend’s brother was on the flight that
originated in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

“The women are all home crying, the men are all standing here
waiting. Whatelse can we do?” said a 47-year-old man who gave his
name only as Misha,reflecting the wide distrust of authorities within
Sochi’s large Armenian community.

He said his brother, sister-in-law and nephew were aboard the crashed
plane, but he didn’t know if their bodies were among those recovered.

“They say they’re identifying the bodies, but we’re not learning
anything,” he complained.

At Yerevan’s Zvarnots Airport, from where the doomed plane took off,
other relatives were in agony.

“I’ve lost my sweetheart, my son!” 50-year-old Anait Bagusian wailed
as doctors hovered nearby because she had swooned several times.

Samvel Oganesian said his 23-year-old son Vram and his friend Hamlet
Abgarian had been heading to Sochi for vacation.

“Why did he go?” Oganesian asked in anguish, over and over again.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian declared Friday a day of mourning in both countries.

The airline said that 26 Russians, one Ukrainian and one Georgian
were among the passengers, while the rest were Armenian citizens. But
Interfax cited Armenian civil aviation spokesman Gayane Davtian as
saying no Georgians or Ukrainians were aboard.

Twenty-five boats, many carrying divers, were involved in the search,
while a deep-sea robot was to be used to try to recover the plane’s
recorders from waters up to 1.2 miles deep.

The plane broke up on impact and passengers’ personal belongings and
plane fragments were found scattered over a mile-wide area.

Emergency ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov said the plane disappeared
from radar screens while trying to make a repeat attempt at an
emergency landing. However, Interfax quoted the Russian air control
agency as saying that the plane’s crew had not declared any emergency.

Armavia deputy commercial deputy Andrei Agadzhanov said weather
conditions were “certainly” the cause of the crash.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL DISMISSES TERRORIST ATTACK AS REASON FOR PLANE CRASH IN SOCHI

Interfax, Russia
May 3 2006

MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office
has fully dismissed the terrorist attack as a reason behind a crash
of an Armenian airlines plane near Sochi.

“Currently the only thing one may say is that the terrorist attack
version has fully been dismissed. There is no objective data to support
it,” spokesperson of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office Nataliya
Vishnyakova told journalists on Wednesday.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

ANCA THANKS U.S. LEGISLATORS FOR URGING PRESIDENT BUSH TO CONDEMN
AZERBAIJANI WAR RHETORIC; DEMOLITION OF ANCIENT ARMENIAN CEMETERY

— Reps. Knollenberg, Pallone, Radanovich and Schiff Registered
Concerns on Eve of Bush-Aliyev Meeting

WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has expressed its appreciation to four leading legislators –
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe
Knollenberg (R-MI) and Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA) and
Adam Schiff (D-CA) – for urging President Bush to personally
encourage Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to stop his
government’s threats against Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh.

The two leaders met at the White House last week in a meeting,
which was reported to have covered, among other items, energy
security issues, Iran’s nuclear program, and democratic reform in
Azerbaijan. It was not immediately clear, based on media accounts,
if President Bush addressed the issues raised in the Congressional
letter.

In their letter, the four legislators voiced their concern that,
“in the years since the 1994 cease-fire agreement in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani government officials have
consistently threatened war and fostered anti-Armenian intolerance.
Ignoring international criticism, President Aliyev has repeatedly
declared that Azerbaijan could launch a new military offensive
against Karabakh, and that he is waging a ‘cold war’ against
Armenia where the ongoing negotiations are only a way to achieve
unilateral Armenian concessions.” Furthermore, the letter
condemned Azerbaijan’s demolition of an over 1,000-year-old
Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, Nakhichevan, noting that “[k]nowingly
expunging traces of Armenian presence also raises serious questions
about Azerbaijan’s commitment to engage in the peace process.” The
legislators credit the Administration for its assurances that “U.S.
opposition to such tactics has been officially conveyed. However,
the United States will be unable to advance its policy objectives
and the OSCE Minsk process will achieve nothing if Azerbaijan is
allowed to risk war with impunity. These counterproductive
strategies are undermining the stability of the South Caucasus
region.”

The full text of the Congressional letter is provided below.

#####

Congress of the United States
Washington, DC 20515

April 27, 2006

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

It is our understanding that you will be meeting with President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev later this week. We urge you to take this
opportunity to condemn the Azerbaijani war rhetoric and other
actions taken against the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh
which undermine U.S. objectives in the region.

In the years since the 1994 cease-fire agreement in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani government officials have
consistently threatened war and fostered anti-Armenian intolerance.
Ignoring international criticism, President Aliyev has repeatedly
declared that Azerbaijan could launch a new military offensive
against Karabakh, and that he is waging a “cold war” against
Armenia where the ongoing negotiations are only a way to achieve
unilateral Armenian concessions.

As part of this campaign, this year Azerbaijan has increased its
military spending by 100% over the previous year to more than $600
million. It has also tightened the seventeen year economic
blockade against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Moreover, President
Aliyev has indicated he would not engage in any confidence-building
measures with Armenia and he had “no desire” to tone down his
country’s war-mongering and anti-Armenian propaganda.

Under the backdrop of the peace talks last December, eyewitnesses
captured on film Azerbaijani soldiers destroying historical
Armenian monuments in the medieval cemetery of Julfa, Nakhichevan
of Azerbaijani Republic. Condemned by the European Parliament,
this incident is not isolated. A Scottish expert on Armenian
architecture, who traveled though Nakhichevan in the summer of
2005, found that a number of Armenian monuments that were intact as
late as the 1980’s were razed to the ground. Knowingly expunging
traces of Armenian presence also raises serious questions about
Azerbaijan’s commitment to engage in the peace process.

We acknowledge and appreciate the assurances of the Administration
that U.S. opposition to such tactics has been officially conveyed.
However, the United States will be unable to advance its policy
objectives and the OSCE Minsk process will achieve nothing if
Azerbaijan is allowed to risk war with impunity. These
counterproductive strategies are undermining the stability of the
South Caucasus region.

We urge you to condemn these actions and call upon President Aliyev
and Azerbaijan to desist from making any further threats against
its Christian neighbors Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

We look forward to working with you on this issue and look forward
to your response.

Sincerely,

JOE KNOLLENBERG
Member of Congress

GEORGE RADONOVICH
Member of Congress

FRANK PALLONE, JR
Member of Congress

ADAM SCHIFF
Member of Congress