Author: Chaltikian Arsine

TURKISH JOURNALISTS FACE ONGOING CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS

CPJ Press Freedom Online, NY
Committee to Protect Journalists
June 7 2006

New York, June 7, 2006- The Committee to Protect Journalists is
concerned by the ongoing criminal prosecution of journalists in
Turkey. Three journalists are before the courts in Istanbul this week
for their work.

Perihan Magden, a columnist for the weekly magazine Yeni Aktuel,
went on trial today charged with discouraging Turks from performing
military service by defending conscientious objectors.

In a December article, Magden took up the case of Mehmet Tarhan, who
received a record four-year sentence in military jail for refusing
to wear his military uniform, The Associated Press reported. Magden
called for the establishment of civilian service as an alternative
to military conscription. She faces up to three years in jail if
convicted under article 318 of the Turkish penal code. Magden’s trial
was adjourned until July 27.

The trial of journalist Murat Belge of the daily Radikal resumes
tomorrow. He is charged with attempting to influence the outcome of
judicial proceedings through his writing. He wrote an article last
year challenging the decision of an Istanbul administrative court to
ban an academic conference on the mass killing of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917. The Armenian massacre is still taboo
in Turkey. If convicted, Belge faces up to four and a half years in
prison under article 288 of the Turkish penal code. Charges against
four other journalists prosecuted along with Belge for writing about
the conference ban were dropped in April.

Another journalist for Radikal, Ismail Saymaz, will also appear in
criminal court tomorrow on charges under article 288, which stem
from an article alleging the torture of children by authorities,
according to the Turkish press freedom organization Bia.

“The existence of repressive laws in Turkey gives an opening to the
enemies of press freedom. We urge Turkish prosecutors to withdraw the
charges against these journalists, and refrain from filing future
charges,” CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. “We call on the
Turkish government to continue to work for the repeal of laws that
restrict work of the press.”

Bia says that since the new Turkish penal code went into effect on
June 1, 2005, 17 journalists who discussed human rights cases, the
Armenian conference ban case, and torture cases, have been charged
with attempting to influence court decisions under Article 288.

7june06na.html

ONLY EXPENSIVE ARMENIAN WINES MAY BE COMPETITIVE IN RUSSIAN MARKET

Noyan Tapan
Jun 07 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, NOYAN TAPAN. Our statesmen should do everything
possible so that Armenian wines can occupy the Russian market now that
the Russian authorities have put a ban on the import of Moldovian
and Georgian wines into Russia out of political considerations. RA
National Assembly deputy Manuk Gasparian expressed this opinion during
a discussion at the Hayeli Club on June 6.

Chairman of the company Vedi Alco – one of the biggest Armenian
wine-making enterprises, NA deputy Manvel Ghazarian disagreed with
M. Gasparian, saying a rise in the prices of Armenian wines in Russia
depends on the correct marketing policy of businessmen rather than
on officials. According to him, this opportunity is especially great
with respect to the “Areni” wine.

Chairman of the Union of Armenian Wine-Makers Avag Harutyunian said
that at least 10 countries can fill up the current gap in Russia’s
wine market in 2-3 months, with some active steps already being
taken in this direction. In his opinion, Armenia should occupy the
Russian market by exporting expensive wines. As a result of the ban
on Georgian and Moldovian wines, 400 mln bottles of wine a year will
not be imported into Russia, while most of them are sold for 1.7-1.8
dollars, which is not to the advantage of Armenian wine-makers because
the average self cost of Armenian wines is the same.

M. Ghazarian noted that the value added tax (VAT) on the sale of
Armenian wines that results in a freeze of circulating assets is
another circumstance affecting the price competitiveness of Armenian
wines.

AZERBAIJAN SIDE WANTS PROPOSALS BE INCLUDED IN REPORT DEVELOPED BY REPORTER OF PA OSCE
Author: J.Shahverdiyev

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
June 6 2006

The report of the reporter of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of OSCE
Goran Lenmarker on Nagorno-Karabakh may be included in the agenda
of the next meeting of the bureau organization, Eldar Ibrahimov,
the deputy head of the Azerbaijani delegation in PA OSCE and also the
chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on agrarian policy,
informed Trend.

The Azerbaijani delegation will met with the reporter Goran Lenmarker
at the summer session of the organization scheduled for 3-7 July in
Brussels. “Lenmarker forwarded the report on Nagorno-Karabakh to
Azerbaijani and Armenian sides. After the sides get familiar with
the report, they will put forward their proposals. After that the
reports will be presented to the agenda of the summer session of the
organization,” told Ibrahimov.

After the proposals are accepted, the report may be presented to
discussions. “According to the procedures, the sides should agree
their proposals with the reporter himself. If the reporter includes
these proposals in his report, then the document will be presented
to the discussion. We try to include the proposals reflecting our
interests,” stressed Ibrahimov.

CHESS PIECE

Times, UK
June 5 2006

British grandmaster i.s.o. anger management

The king is dead. Thus, roughly translated, the original Persian for
“checkmate”. But the male pretenders to the world chess throne at
a recently concluded chess Olympiad in Turin were very much alive –
as players, to be sure, but more particularly as men.

It was as if they sought to prove to themselves and to an
insufficiently interested world outside the tournament that
grandmasters are more than furnace-like intellects encased in
low-emission personalities. Some have fire in their bellies, too.

No one accuses Levon Aronian, the Armenian world No 3, of any active
role in this, but it seems to have been he who attracted the attention
of the beautiful Australian chess starlet Arianne Caoili at a party
thrown by the Bermudan delegation the night before the second rest
day of the Olympiad.

Like a knight wrong-footed by a queen’s gambit, Danny Gormally, a
Brit often seen in baseball caps, mustered what force he could and
counter-attacked. His own favourite openings are the Sicilian and the
Nimzo Indian. This time he chose the clenched fist. Aronian wasn’t
hurt, but his dance with Caoili was cut shorter than Fischer v Panno
in Majorca in 1970. Armenia’s outrage simmers on.

It is not clear if Gormally normally would be reprimanded formally;
it is clear that his team was already struggling before its grumpiest
member succumbed to the distractions of the dancefloor. British Chess
Magazine bemoans an “end-of-Empire” feeling about the English game,
and little wonder. We won our last match for nineteenth place –
against the now defunct Serbia and Montenegro.

MNATSAKAN PETROSIAN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF NA STANDING COMMITTEE ON
SOCIAL, HEALTHCARE AND NATURE PROTECTION ISSUES

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. By the results of the
secret ballot held on June 2 at the parliament, member of the United
Labor Party faction Mnatsakan Petrosian was elected Chairman of RA NA
Standing Committee on Social, Healthcare and Nature Protection
Issues. He was the Vice-Chairman of the above-mentioned committee. 72
out of 131 MPs took part in the voting, 71 of them voted for the
candidature, 1 voted against. M.Petrosian was born on February 16 1956
in the Georgian town of Akhaltsikhe. In 1980 he graduated from Yerevan
Institute of People’s Economy, he is an economist by speciality.

He started his working activity in 1973, worked at different
enterprises, as well as at Armeconombank and Armagrobank. Before being
elected RA MP on December 11 2003 by a proportional system he held the
post of the Deputy Director of the Arsoil company. He is a member of
the United Labor Party, is married, has two children.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 2 2006

Stationing of peacekeepers in Garabagh possible – Azeri official

Baku, June 1, AssA-Irada

The issue of stationing peacekeeping forces in the Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict zone is currently on the agenda of talks on
settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the Azeri Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tahir Taghizada said commenting on Russian Defense Minister
Sergey Ivanov’s statement in this regard.
He said the 8-10 `components’ currently on the negotiating table
include a plan of comprehensive activities on providing security.
`From this standpoint, the stationing of peacekeepers in the conflict
zone is not ruled out.’
Taghizada noted that under the preliminary agreement reached, the
contingent of these forces could not include servicemen from regional
states or the countries that co-chair the mediating OSCE Minsk Group
– Russia, France and the United States.*

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
June 2 2006

AMBASSADOR OF AZERBAIJAN TO CANADA HELD MEETINGS IN SENATE AND
CHAMBER OF REPRESENTATIVES
[June 02, 2006, 20:49:48]

Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Canada Fakhraddin Gurbanov has held a
series of meetings at the Senate and Chamber of Representatives of
this country, the embassy spokesman said.

Ambassador Gurbanov told of independent foreign policy Azerbaijan
actively pursues after it gained state independence in 1991. The
country takes active part at world and regional organizations,
continuously conducts reforms to establish legal and democratic
state, to develop market economy.

The Ambassador also updated on the favorable investment environment
in the country, economic reforms, development of non-oil sector and
involvement of investments in the country’s dynamically developing
economy.

Mr. Gurbanov in detailed informed on the history of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, its reasons, sequences and plight of over one
million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs who left their homelands as a
result of Armenian aggression.

The Ambassador disclosed position of Azerbaijan to peacefully settle
the conflict, in the frame of international law and territorial
integrity of countries.

ARMENIAN STUDENTS TO FIGHT FOR ECOLOGY

Panorama.am
17:12 31/05/06

About 40 students from different regions of Armenia will participate
in the solution of nature protection challenges in the regions
of Armenia. Today Forest Armenia public organization summed up
long-term projects which were launched in December 2004. During that
time, a number of seminars were held and 4 out of 12 public ecology
organizations were selected to conduct seminars and training courses
for totally 150 students. According to Mher Sharoyan, coordinator
on relations with public organizations, at the end of the project
most active 40 students were selected who will cooperate with the
selected public organizations and local government units to raise
environmental challenges at the government through their donors.

TURKEY DISCUSSES RELATIONS NORMALIZATION WITH ARMENIA

Reporter, Greece
June 1 2006

11:46 – 01 June 2006 – Turkish and Armenian officials have been
discussing normalizing relations, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said
Wednesday, despite the fact that Armenians accuse Turks of genocide and
the two countries have no diplomatic ties. “A negotiation process has
started between the two countries to seek a common ground,” Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said. “Three rounds of talks were held
so far.”

The talks have apparently led to no breakthroughs, but that the two
countries are even talking might be considered one in itself.

Several informal earlier attempts at dialogue faltered amid disputes
between Turks and Armenians over the massacres of Armenians at the
time of World War I. Armenians say that Ottoman Turks slaughtered
1.5 million Armenians in a planned genocide and have demanded that
Turkey recognize the killings as such.

Turkey vehemently denies that the mass killings were genocide, saying
the death toll is inflated and Armenians were killed in civil unrest
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

The talks between Turkish and Armenian foreign ministry officials
started after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a
letter to Armenian Prime Minister Robert Kocharian asking for the
two countries to open a joint historical investigation to research
the killings, Tan said.

Kocharian wrote back, leading to a series of talks, he said. Tan said
the talks would continue, but would provide no substantive details.

He requested that Armenia adopt a more flexible and constructive
approach to regional problems, saying, “Turkey is intending to pursue
efforts to normalize relations with Armenia.”

May 31, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

WESTERN PRELACY’S NEW RELIGIOUS AND EXECUTIVE COUNCILS ELECT THEIR DIVANS

The newly elected Religious and Executive Councils of our
Western Prelacy, elected at the 34th National Representatives Assembly (May
19 and May 20), held their first meeting on Tuesday, May 30, at the
temporary Prelacy office in Encino. During the meetings, held under the
auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, the new
councils elected their divans.
The Religious Council’s meetings took place in the afternoon of
May 30. The council consists of the following divan and advisors:

Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian Chairman
Very Rev. Fr. Barthev Gulumian Vice-Chair
Rev. Vazken Atmajian
Secretary
Rev. Gomidas Torossian Advisor
Rev. Razmig Khatchadourian Advisor
Rev. Vahan Gosdanian Advisor
Rev. Ardag Demirjian
Advisor

The Executive Council’s meeting took place in the evening of the
same day. The council consists of the following divan and advisors:

Dr. Garo Agopian
Chairman
Dr. Hagop Der Megerdichian Vice-Chair
Mr. Boghos Sassounian
Secretary
Mr. Vahan Bezdikian
Treasurer
Mr. Garbis Bezdjian
Advisor
Mr. Garo Avakian
Advisor
Mr. Meher Der Ohanessian Advisor
Dr. Navasart Kazazian
Advisor
Mr. Nerses Melkonian
Advisor
Mr. Vahe Hovaguimian Advisor
Mr. Varoujan Der Simonian Advisor

Divan Western Prelacy