Author: Karabekian Emil

The Independent

Azerbaijan ‘flattened’ sacred Armenian site

By Stephen Castle in Brussels

Published: 30 May 2006

Fears that Azerbaijan has systematically destroyed hundreds of
500-year-old Christian artefacts have exploded into a diplomatic row,
after Euro MPs were barred from inspecting an ancient Armenian burial site.

The predominantly Muslim country’s government has been accused of
“flagrant vandalism” similar to the Taliban’s demolition of the Bamiyan
Buddhas in Afghanistan.

The claims centre on the fate of rare “khachkars”, stone crosses carved
with intricate floral designs, at the burial ground of Djulfa in the
Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan, an enclave separated from the rest of
the country by Armenia.

The works – some of the most important examples of Armenian heritage –
are said to have been smashed with sledgehammers last December as the
site was concreted over.

The Azerbaijan government, which denies the claims, is now at the centre
of a row with MEPs, some of whom it accused of a “biased and hysterical
approach”. Its ambassador to the EU also says the European Parliament
has ignored damage to Muslim sites in Armenia. Azerbaijan has refused to
allow a delegation of Euro MPs permission to visit the 1,500-year-old
Djulfa cemetery during their trip to the region last month.

Most of original 10,000 khachkars, most of which date from the 15th and
16th century, were destroyed by the early 20th century, leaving probably
fewer than 3,000 by the late 1970s.

According to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos),
the Azerbaijan government removed 800 khachkars in 1998. Though the
destruction was halted following protests from Unesco, it resumed four
years later. By January 2003 “the 1,500-year-old cemetery had completely
been flattened,” Icomos says.

Witnesses, quoted in the Armenian press, say the final round of
vandalism was unleashed in December last year by Azerbaijani soldiers
wielding sledgehammers.

The president of Icomos, Michael Petzet, said: “Now that all traces of
this highly important historic site seem to have been extinguished all
we can do is mourn the loss and protest against this totally senseless
destruction.”

Some MEPs believe that, boosted by its oil revenues, Azerbaijan is
adopting an increasingly assertive stance in the region. Charles
Tannock, Conservative foreign affairs spokesman in the European
parliament, argued: “This is very similar to the Buddha statues
destroyed by the Taliban. They have concreted the area over and turned
it into a military camp. If they have nothing to hide then we should be
allowed to inspect the terrain.”

When MEPs passed a critical resolution in February, Azerbaijan’s Foreign
Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, made a formal protest. Then, when the
parliament’s delegation for relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and
Georgia, asked to combine a mission to Armenia with a visit to the
Djulfa archaeological site, their request was refused.

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly hopes to visit the site
and its secretary general has offered to set up an expert group to
examine cultural sites in Azerbaijan and Armenia. MEPs insist that the
authorities in Azerbaijan should open their doors if they have nothing
to hide.

Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian socialist MEP and member of the committee
barred from examining the site, said he hopes a visit can be arranged in
the autumn. He added: “If they do not allow us to go, we have a clear
hint that something bad has happened. If something is hidden we want to
ask why. It can only be because some of the allegations are true.”

And he warned: “One of the major elements of any country that wants to
come close to Europe is that the cultural heritage of neighbours is
respected.”

A1+

FISHING PROHIBITED ON PAPER ONLY

[01:04 pm] 29 May, 2006

The markets of the Gegharqounik region as well as the community of
village Nor Getashen still continue selling whitefish. Although by the
order of the RA Ministry of Ecology it is prohibited to catch
whitefish in 2006, still fishing does not stop in Sevan.

Mainly small fish is sold in the markets: weighing 50-150 grams and
costing 100 AMD each. In answer to our inquiries the Ecology
administration of the Gegharqounik region said that the national park
`Sevan’ and the RA Ministry of Ecology are responsible for prohibiting
fishing.

So, in contrast to the previous years no control has been exercised in
the lake.

TV Company `Qyavar’ of Gavar

Regnum, Russia –
May 26 2006

Russian deputy speaker: `Russia has every reason to recognize
Artsakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transdnestr’

`The international situation has given us a positive example – if
Albanians receive the right to establish their own independent state
in the foreign territory, so ancient Armenian people must perhaps
receive the right to restore the territory;’ leader of the Russian
Liberal Democratic Party, Deputy Speaker of Russian State Duma
Vladimir Zhirinovsky is quoted by a REGNUM correspondent as stating
in Moscow, speaking at the third Russia’s Armenian Union (RAU)
Congress.

`Yes, we pity Serbs, but it is a positive signal for the
international community – it is a positive signal for Artsakh
(Nagorno Karabakh – REGNUM), for Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and
Transdnestr,’ Zhirinovsky continued. According to him, if the
international community recognizes Kosovo and Montenegro, Russia will
have every reason to recognize analogous territories, especially as
it has more rights for that, because these republics were parts of
the Russian Empire, and now they pretend to restore their legal
personalities. `It may not be denied – it is the international law,’
he stated.

As Vladimir Zhirinovsky stressed, addressing to the Russian Armenians
Union (RAU) Congress deputies and guests, `the Armenian people have
already been suffering for 100 years, and it is necessary to achieve
adoption of at least one international organization’s resolution on
returning territories to Armenian state by 2015, the 100th
anniversary of those awful events.’ `It is not enough to recognize
the Genocide; the territories should be returned. Those ones, who are
living there now, should be returned to Ashgabat and Tashkent – what
does one people need two states for? And territories should be
returned to Armenia and Kurdistan. Kurds are betrayed people too –
they have been expecting for 100 years,’ the LDPR leader said. Also,
he called the RAU to be more active in the Russian provinces and to
cooperate with Russian political and non-governmental organizations
in order to explain to young generation of Russians that `Armenians
are our brothers; they are Christians, and they have been living side
by side with Russians for hundreds of years.’ Zhirinovsky called on
the RAU to cooperate for realization of other socially vital
initiatives.

Dying ‘Dr. Death’ Has Second Thoughts About Assisting Suicides

Jack Kevorkian Still Supports Movement, but Has Misgivings About His Methods

ABC News (U.S.)
May 26, 2006

By LARA SETRAKIAN and ABC News’ Law & Justice Unit

Today, on his 78th birthday, Jack Kevorkian, the man known as “Dr.
Death,” is slowly dying in prison.

And, according to his lawyer, Kevorkian seems to have second thoughts
about helping people die.

For years, Kevorkian was the center of a national debate around the
highly controversial questions surrounding physician-assisted suicide or
“mercy killing:” Do the terminally ill have the right to choose when and
how they die? Do doctors have the ability, even an obligation, to help
them die as they choose?

Now, as he sits in jail, Kevorkian may have had a change of heart — not
about his dedication to the “death with dignity” movement, but on how he
went about promoting it.

Specifically, his lawyer suggests, he questions the more than 100
suicides he said he assisted throughout the 1990s. One assisted suicide
— the death of Lou Gehrig’s disease patient Thomas Youk, which was
taped and broadcast on “60 Minutes” in 1998 — earned him a prison
sentence of 15 years to 20 years for second degree murder.

“He did what he did, and it brought it to public awareness [of
physician-assisted suicide],” said Kevorkian’s attorney, Mayer
Morganroth. “He now realizes that having performed it when it was
against the law, wasn’t the, probably, appropriate way to go about it. …
What he should have done was work towards its legalization verbally. …
Pursuing that cause, and not performing it because it still was against
the law.”

‘He Gets Depressed at Times’

These days, Kevorkian resides in Michigan’s Lakeland Correctional
Facility. Less than a week ago, Morganroth publicly stated that doctors
had told Kevorkian he had less than a year to live.

Kevorkian suffers from Hepatitis C, which he contracted during service
in Vietnam. Morganroth said Kevorkian’s liver enzyme levels were three
to four times above normal — a clear signal his liver was failing.

In light of his failing health, Kevorkian has requested a commutation of
his sentence, a pardon that would get him released from prison. Under
the conditions of his current sentence, he is not eligible for parole
until June 1, 2007, but he can apply for a commutation on medical
grounds before then.

The Michigan State Department of Corrections confirmed to ABC News that
it had received Kevorkian’s latest request on Monday and that the parole
board was currently reviewing it. Kevorkian made a separate request for
a commutation of his sentence in November 2005, but it was rejected by
the parole board one month later.

When asked to describe Kevorkian’s physical and mental state, Morganroth
said it was “not great. … He’s quite ill.”

“Certainly he does get depressed at times,” he said.

Initially, Kevorkian appealed his 1999 conviction of second degree
murder and tried to have his case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We filed in the United States Supreme Court, they refused to hear it,”
Morganroth said. “Instead, of course, they took the appeal for Anna
Nicole Smith, which sort of made me laugh. Not that I thought it was
funny, but I thought it was ludicrous.”

Lawyer: Parole Board “Unfairly Biased”

Morganroth thinks the parole board is stacked against Kevorkian, unduly
harsh in its handling of his case. The Michigan Department of
Corrections disagrees.

“That is absolutely not true. … This is very standard procedure,”
spokesman Russ Marlan said. “We get 100 to 300 requests for medical
commutations [annually]. Very few get out.”

Marlan said that the parole board recommended the release of prisoners
in dire physical condition. Its internal standard has been to recommend
the release of anyone whom doctors say has less than 12 months to live.

Morganroth said Kevorkian had met that standard. However, even if the
parole board decides Kevorkian should stay behind bars, Michigan Gov.
Jennifer Granholm could disregard that recommendation and set him free.

“The governor could still commute a sentence, even though a parole board
recommends not to,” Marlan said. “But it happens very infrequently.”

Granholm’s spokeswoman, Liz Boyd, told ABC News that governors normally
upheld parole board decisions. Granholm, Boyd said, has commuted seven
sentences during her three years in office.

“In the last 30 years, every governor has followed the recommendation of
the parole board,” Boyd said. “The only commutations approved have been
for medical.”

Stands by His Position, but Wouldn’t Do it Again

While Kevorkian stands firmly by the cause of physician-assisted
suicide, his lawyer said he would promote the movement by speaking out
or writing, not by helping out in any more suicides.

“At this point, he would never perform it again,” Morganroth said. “But
he certainly would work towards getting it legalized wherever possible.”

In a series of national polls, a majority of Americans expressed their
support for Kevorkian’s release. It’s unclear, however, whether an
outpouring of public opinion would do anything to help Kevorkian’s bid
for freedom.

Kevorkian, Morganroth said, “gets petitions, letters by the carload of
support. I get them, too. I just tell them forward them to the governor.”

ABC News’ Anne Shutkin in New York contributed to this report.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jack Kevorkian, center, said he would promote
physician-assisted suicide by speaking out or writing, not by helping
out in any more suicides, his attorney said. Kevorkian is serving a
prison sentence of 15 years to 20 years for second degree murder. (The
Associated Press)

?id08364&page=1

CONFLICT INSIDE ARMENIAN OPPOSITION GROWING

Yerevan, May 25. ArmInfo. The secretary of the opposition People’s
Party MP Grigor Haroutyunyan accuses the leader of the opposition
National Unity party Artashes Gegamyan of distorting historical facts.

Haroutyunyan was surprised to hear Gegamyan saying during his
Wednesday TV debates with the leader of the Orinats Yerkir party Artur
Bagdassaryan that during the Sept 2005 elections of Yerevan Center
community prefect his party supported Gagik Beglaryan as in Sept
Gegamyan publicly said that he was going to support the opposition
candidate from Justice bloc Ruzan Khachatryan.

Besides, Haroutyunyan refutes Gegamyan’s statement that the former
speaker of the Armenian parliament karen Demirthyan, killed in Oct 27
1999 terrorist act, sought or was offered the post of prime minister.

In his turn, oppositon MP Arshak Sadoyan says that the debates of
Gegamyan and Bagdassaryan was a squabble rather than polemics.

AIRBUS A320 FLIGHT RECORDERS DELIVERED TO MOSCOW

Interfax, Russia
May 25 2006

MOSCOW. May 25 (Interfax) – The flight recorders of the Airbus
A320 of the Armavia Airlines were brought to Moscow on Thursday,
the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) said on its website.

“The flight recorders were delivered to the Interstate Aviation
Committee last night,” the website said.

An IAC commission, federal experts and representatives of Armenia and
France are considering how the decipher information, as the flight
recorders are not in very good shape.

The first flight recorder, which monitored conversations in the
cockpit, was retrieved from the Black Sea on Monday. The second one
was found in the early hours of Wednesday and lifted aboard by the
Navigator vessel later in the day.

The A320 carrying 113 people crashed six kilometers off the Black
Sea coast on May 3. The crash killed everyone onboard.

RUSSIA CONTINUES PULLING OUT MILITARY HARDWARES FROM GEORGIA BASES

Xinhua, China
May 25 2006

MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) — A convoy of trucks carrying heavy weapons
and equipment from a Russian military base in Georgia departed
on Thursday as Russia continued its pullout from its bases in the
Caucasus Mountain nation, the headquarters in Transcaucasia announced.

The trucks will bring from the Batumi base to the Russian base Gyumri
in Armenia 54 units of military material, communication trucks as
well as some property, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

This is the third convoy of trucks which pulled out weapons and
property of Russian troops from bases in Georgia in 2006. The two
previous ones pulled out military property from the Akhalkalaki base.

Another six train will depart from Batumi over the next few months.

Russia and Georgia signed an agreement in late March that set out
the deadline and details of the pullout of Russian military bases
from Georgia.

Under the accord, the two sides agreed to complete the phased
withdrawal of the Russian bases and other military installations in
Georgia by the end of 2008.

Russia inherited four military bases in Georgia from the former Soviet
Union and has withdrawn two of them.

CONFERENCE ON HISTORY ISSUES HELD IN YEGHEGNADZOR

Noyan Tapan
May 24 2006

YEGHEGNADZOR, MAY 24, NOYAN TAPAN. A conference was held in
Yeghegnadzor on May 19-21 in which scientific workers of the
History Institute of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
participated. “When everything is centralized in Yerevan, it is
pleasant that the science is moved to marzes,” Professor Ashot
Melkonian, the NAS History Institute Director mentioned in the opening
speech of the conference being held at the “Gitelik” University.

He expressed gratitude to Bishop Abraham Mkrtchian, the Syunik Diocese
Primate for by the assistance the latter, as a member of the “Gitelik”
University Board of Trustees, a tradition of holding the conference
in Vayots Dzor is already being formed: a similar conference was for
the first time held here in 2005.

A meeting among scientific workers and “Gitelik” University students
was also organized within the framework of the conference, during what
the issue of Armenians’ identity was touched upon. Students addressed
numerous questions to the History Institute Director, starting from
the Armenian Genocide problems to acception of national ideology of
our-days political figures. Deputy Regional Governor of Vayots Dzor
Samvel Tarverdian was also present at the conference.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Karabakh Conflict Has No Military Solution

20.05.2006 15:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ When addressing the 116th session of the Council of
Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Armenian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Vartan Oskanian addressed the issue of settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. “Upon membership, Armenia and
Azerbaijan made a commitment to see a peaceful resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict,» he said. «There are positive
elements in the negotiations process in which we have been involved
over these last several years, but that can produce results only if
the parties understand – and clearly declare – that they don’t have a
military option here.

Europe offers a new context for negotiation: regional cooperation and
post-war reconciliation. This is the Europe – the place of peace and
cooperation – to which our two countries belong, ” Vartan Oskanian
remarked, reports the Armenian MFA Press Service.

NO AGREEMENT YET ON KEY ARMENIAN-AZERI SUMMIT
By Harry Tamrazian in Prague

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 19 2006

Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Friday that he and his
Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov failed to set a date
for the next, potentially decisive Armenian-Azerbaijani summit on
Nagorno-Karabakh during talks in Strasbourg the previous night.

The two men met in the presence of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
on the sidelines of a regular session of the Council of Europe’s
decision-making Committee of Ministers. The American, French and
Russian mediators hope than another face-to-face meeting between
Presidents Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharian will yield a breakthrough
in the Karabakh peace process.

A Kocharian spokesman said earlier this month that the meeting’s venue
and exact date is likely to be agreed by Mammadyarov and Oskanian
at Strasbourg. However, this clearly did not happen, with Oskanian
explaining that Baku and Yerevan have not yet laid the groundwork
for the crucial summit.

“Discussions focused on the proposals and ideas that have been on
the table,” he told RFE/RL by phone, referring to the Strasbourg talks.

“Overall, it was not a bad meeting. However, there are still many
issues that have not yet been agreed on.”

Oskanian went on to indicate that the Aliev-Kocharian encounter might
therefore not take place at all. “While not ruling out the possibility
of such a meeting at this point, I can’t say for certain that it will
take place because a lot depends on the co-chairs’ high-level visit
to the region.”

In a further sign of the seriousness of their intentions, the co-chairs
will begin the visit on May 25 together with more high-ranking
diplomats, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried
and Russian Deputy Foreign Minster Grigory Karasin. The mediators
will discuss with the conflicting parties their new unpublicized
peace proposals put forward following the collapse of the last
Aliev-Kocharian meeting that took place in Rambouillet, France in
February.

“The co-chairs see a new momentum after Rambouillet and they believe
that by raising the level [of their diplomacy] they can attract more
attention and will try during their visit to create a situation that
will convince the parties to agree to a meeting of the presidents,”
said Oskanian.