ARMENIA’S GOVERNMENT TO FINANCE "SERVICE FOR INTRODUCING E-GOVERNANCE"
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
30.07.2009 19:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Government of Armenia, following its decision on
the opening of the open joint stock company Service for introducing
e-governance", allocated funds in the framework of the Information
Technology support program for 2009.
KARABAKH PEACE PROSPECTS UNCERTAIN AFTER LATEST ARMENIAN-AZERI TALKS
Emil Danielyan
Jamestown Foundation
July 29 2009
Prospects for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict look more
uncertain following the latest round of negotiations between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Contrary to the international
community’s expectations, Presidents Serzh Sarksyan and Ilham
Aliyev appear to have failed to clear the remaining hurdles to sign
an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord that would have far-reaching
implications for the entire region. International mediators hope that
the two leaders will achieve a breakthrough at their next meeting
expected this fall.
Sarksyan and Aliyev met in Moscow on July 17 for the sixth time in just
over a year to try to build on significant progress that was apparently
made during their two previous meetings in Prague and St.Petersburg
on May 7 and June 4 respectively. U.S., Russian and French mediators
expressed hope that in Moscow they would resolve their remaining
disagreements over the "basic principles" of a Karabakh settlement
put forward by the OSCE’s Minsk group. Deputy-Assistant Secretary
of State Matthew Bryza, the group’s U.S. co-chair, said that would
enable the conflicting parties to agree to a framework peace deal
"by the end of the year" (Reuters, June 22).
On July 10 the United States, Russia and France, all of which co-chair
the Minsk group, underscored their renewed optimism concerning a
possible settlement of the Karabakh issue in a joint statement issued
by their presidents on the sidelines of the G8 summit in L’Aquila,
Italy. "We urge the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the
few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on
these basic principles, which will outline a comprehensive settlement,"
the statement said.
Neither Aliyev nor Sarksyan made any public statements on July 17 after
several hours of discussions, partly attended by Bryza and his fellow
negotiators from Russia and France. The mediators told journalists
afterwards that the meeting did not live up to their expectations
(, July 18). According to Yuri Merzlyakov, the chief Russian
negotiator, the two presidents held a more productive meeting with
their Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, the next day. "There are
interesting solutions which the presidents found in the trilateral
format," Merzlyakov told the Azerbaijani Trend news agency on July
22. "I think that this could produce a positive result in the future."
Sarksyan likewise spoke of "progress" in the negotiating process
as he received Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in Yerevan
on July 20 (Statement by the Armenian presidential press service,
July 20). Azerbaijani officials’ reaction to the Moscow talks was
contradictory. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s cautious optimism
contrasted with statements made by Novruz Mammadov, Aliyev’s chief
foreign policy aide. Mammadov accused the Armenian side of showing
"hypocrisy" and scuttling the long-awaited agreement (Zerkalo,
July 23).
The Minsk group co-chairs, meanwhile, began preparations for the next
Aliyev-Sarksyan encounter, which they hope will take place in early
October on the sidelines of a CIS summit in Moldova. In a joint July
21 statement, they said they will also start working on an "updated
version" of their basic principles.
The proposed framework agreement became the basis of
Armenian-Azerbaijani talks before it was formally submitted to
the parties in Madrid in November 2007. Aliyev and Sarksyan’s more
hard-line predecessor, Robert Kocharian, came very close to accepting
it in early 2006. The so-called Madrid principles, disclosed in
general terms by the mediating powers, call for a phased settlement
of the Karabakh conflict that would start with a gradual liberation
of the seven districts in Azerbaijan which were fully or partly
occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces during the 1991-1994 war. In
return, Karabakh’s predominantly Armenian population would determine
the disputed enclave’s status in a legally binding referendum. The
would-be agreement stipulates that Karabakh would remain under an
internationally recognized Armenian control until the two sides set
a date for holding such a vote.
According to U.S. and Armenian officials involved in the peace process,
Aliyev has essentially agreed to this formula despite his constant
public assertions that Baku will never come to terms with the loss
of Karabakh. Accordingly, some highly-placed Armenian sources claim
that the main sticking point in the talks (both under Kocharian
and now) relates to Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar and Lachin,
the Azerbaijani districts wedged between Karabakh and Armenia. The
Kocharian administration, they argue, insisted that these territories
should be returned to Azerbaijan only after the Karabakh referendum on
self-determination, something which was unacceptable to Baku. Also,
while agreeing to ensure unfettered transport communication between
Armenia and Karabakh through a 30-kilometer-wide corridor, the
Azerbaijani side rejected Armenian demands for that overland link to
be formally incorporated into Karabakh.
There have been some indications that Sarksyan could show greater
flexibility on these issues. In an interview with the Russian Vesti
TV channel on June 20, Aliyev said that Kelbajar and most of Lachin
would be placed under Azerbaijani control five years after the Armenian
pullout from the other occupied lands surrounding Karabakh. However,
their failure to finalize the peace accord in Moscow might mean
that Yerevan insists on the referendum linkage. Mounting uproar from
Armenian nationalist groups opposed to any territorial concessions
to Azerbaijan preceded these talks.
One of these groups, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, also
known as the Dashnak Party), organized a conference of like-minded
hard-line forces in the Karabakh capital Stepanakert on July 10-11
to warn the Yerevan government against signing up to the Madrid
principles (Yerkir-Media TV, July 11). Karabakh Armenian leaders also
attended the high-profile gathering, again exposing their reluctance to
embrace the proposed settlement. Even Armenia’s first President Levon
Ter-Petrosian, who was forced to resign in 1998 after advocating a
similar deal with Azerbaijan, is not averse to exploiting the issue in
his continuing standoff with the ruling regime. In a July 14 statement,
Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress alliance cited "dangerous"
developments in the Karabakh peace process to again demand Sarksyan’s
resignation.
Sarksyan also has to reckon with Kocharian’s opinion. The latter
would hardly approve of Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan and,
despite keeping a very low profile, might wield more influence than
the Armenian opposition to undercut his successor and longtime
ally. Sarksyan, who is still reeling from the 2008 post-election
unrest in Yerevan, will thus need to tread a delicate line in the
months ahead.
CHESS CLASSIC: ARONIAN DOMINATES IN CHESS
Chessbase News
d=5618
July 28 2009
Germany
29.07.2009 – It is a form of chess, originally proposed by Bobby
Fischer, in which the position of the pieces – not the pawns – is
shuffled randomly before the start of each game. This eliminates deep
opening preparation and fosters a new form of creativity. Armenia’s
top GM appears to have plenty of that. After the first day he leads
with 3.0/3 – after a 40-board simultaneous display. Illustrated report.
Chess Classic Mainz 2009 The 2009 Chess Classic will take place from
July 27 to August 2 in the Rheingoldhalle of the Congress Centre,
Hilton Hotel in Mainz, Germany. The event includes tournaments and
Opens in traditional and Random Chess, with stars like the current
World Champion Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian of Armenia, strong
Russian junior GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and top German GM Arkadij
Naiditsch. Schedule below.
After the traditional opening press conference on Monday there was a
simul with Levon Aronian. The top Armenian GM took his 40 opponents
to task, winning 37:3.
Aronian did not lose a single game and conceded only six draws. Fred
Böttcher, Manfred Herbold (Schachhaus Ludwigshafen), Dr. Matthias
Kribben (Zitadelle Spandau), Ulrich Gass (SC Eppingen) Timo Spiess
(Bochumer SV 02) and Bernd Grill (SV Ebersbach) managed to take half
a point away from the grandmaster.
The day ended with some fine wining and dining at the Champions
Dinner. For the gourmets: sliced baliksalmon with caviar was served,
followed by lamb with lavender jus with quiche of pointed cabbage. The
strawberry salsa with white chocolate mousse was a great dessert.
The next day, when 71 young talents in the third Mini-ORDIX Open came
to the Rheingoldhalle with their parents and trainers, they could
meet the world champion and some of the best players in the world in
the popular first signing session of the week.
In the above picture we see Ian Nepomniachtchi, Sergei Movsesian,
Levon Aronian, Victor Bologan, Arkadij Naiditsch and Viswanathan Anand
ready to sign pictures, T-shirts, posters and books and anything
else for the excited youngsters. Hikaru Nakamura had to cope with
the time difference and did not make it on time. However, in Mainz
grandmasters are approachable and it is not difficult to snatch an
autograph from a top player.
In the evening four stars took part in an event that featured
random chess – where the starting position – one of 960 possible
configurations – is revealed to the players just before the game
begins.
6th Chess960 Rapid World Championship – 28-30 July 2009 Rapid chess,
20min/game + 5s/move. Course of events: Tue 28 July: first set of
rounds 1, 2 and 3; Wed, 29 July: second set of rounds 4, 5 and 6,
possible tiebreak; Thu, 30 July: four-game matches, big and small
final, possible tiebreak, award ceremony. Start time of rounds:
18:30h, 19:30h, 20:30h, final additionally: 21:30h. Participants:
Player Nation Rating Title WRank Levon Aronian Armenia 2754 GM 6
Sergei Movsesian Slovakia 2734 GM 16 Hikaru Nakamura USA 2699 GM 32
Victor Bologan Moldavia 2687 GM 43
First day: Tactics Rule
By Johannes Fischer Tactics rule. As Viktor Bologan explained in
yesterday’s press conference, in Chess960 the random position of the
pieces simply forces you to think of everything. In interviews Levon
Aronian also stressed how important tactics are in Chess960. The first
three rounds of the Chess960 Rapid World Championship confirmed this
view. The games featured quite a number of unusual tactical situations
– and it was Levon Aronian who handled them best.
Right from the start he showed how good he coped with them. In his
first round game against Nakamura he gave his queen for two rooks
after just a couple of moves and afterwards he simply brought his
pieces to strong squares. Nakamura came under pressure and had to
give an exchange but then Aronian used his material plus to mate the
enemy king with rook and two knights.
The game between Sergei Movsesian and Viktor Bologan was also
characterized by tactics. Tactical tricks gave Bologan an advantage,
and a tactical trick allowed Movsesian to extricate himself from a
difficult position. However, he could not solve all of his problems
and Black still had some pressure. This in turn provoked an inaccuracy
from Movsesian which Bologan used to secure a winning position and
soon after the point.
However, after this promising start followed a sobering second round,
in which Bologan miscalculated and fell victim to a violent mating
attack from Aronian.
Levon Aronian – Viktor Bologan Chess960 Rapid World Championship
Chess Classic Mainz 2009 (2.1)
1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.f3 Ng6 4.Bc4 c6 5.Bb3 Nc7 6.Ng3 exd4 7.Bxd4 Ne6 8.Bc3
Nc5 9.Nf5 Nxb3 10.axb3 f6 11.Qe3 Qc7 12.Nd3 Ne5 13.Be1 g6 14.Nd4 Bf7
15.Bf2 Bg7
Now White played 16.Rxa7 Rxa7 17.Nb5 cxb5 18.Qxa7+ Kc8 19.Nxe5 fxe5
20.Bb6 Qe7 21.Qa8+ Kd7 22.Bxd8 and Black resigned: 1-0.
With two out of two Aronian showed why he was considered to be the
favorite to win this tournament. The secret favorite Hikaru Nakamura
fared much worse. After his first round loss against Aronian things
also went wrong against Movsesian. The American played with White,
built up pressure in the opening, avoided a repetition and a draw –
only to lose his way and the game later on. "After ten moves I was
almost winning, but then I got careless," he remarked during the
press conference after the game.
However, he managed to pull himself together in the third round and
won with Black against Bologan. Both players were fond of the enemy
pawns, but Nakamura managed to snatch one more pawn than his opponent,
which gave him a clear endgame advantage that he finally converted
to a full point.
The game between Movsesian and Aronian quickly developed into a sharp
encounter. Both players wanted to gain the initiative and did not shy
away from material sacrifices. At first it seemed as if Movsesian,
who played with White, set the pace, but the tide turned after a
strong counter by Aronian.
Sergei Movsesian – Levon Aronian Chess960 Rapid World Championship
Chess Classic Mainz 2009 (3.1)
1.b4 Nf6 2.Ng3 e6 3.e4 b6 4.Bf3 Ng6 5.h4 d6 6.d4 d5 7.h5 dxe4 8.Be2
Nf8 9.h6 Rg8 10.c4 c5 11.bxc5 bxc5 12.Rxb8 Qxb8 13.d5
Suddenly White’s position was critical and Movsesian’s search for
counterplay only accelerated his end. There followed: 13…e3 14.Bd1
exf2+ 15.Kxf2 gxh6 16.N1e2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Bg5 18.Ba4+ Ke7 19.Qc2 Be3+
20.Kf1 Bf4 21.Nf5+ exf5 22.Rh3 Be5 23.Nc3 Kf6 24.Qd3 Rg5 25.d6 Kg7
26.d7 Nxd7 27.Bxd7 Ld4 28.Ke2 Nf2 0-1.
This round led to an amusing situation: three players with one out
of three share places two to four and will fight hard to qualify for
the final tomorrow. At the same time Aronian scored 3.0/3 and is the
sole and dominant leader and more than ever favorite to successfully
defend his title of Chess960 World Champion.
"All games were hard and tough fights," Aronian said during the
press conference. Maybe – but he still seemed to play all of them
with effortless and playful ease. Often a sign of real great skill.
All pictures by Christian Bossert for Chess Tigers/Chess Clas
SARKISIAN WILL DITCH SOCCER DIPLOMACY UNLESS BORDER OPENED
Asbarez
Jul 28th, 2009
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Armenia’s President Serzh Sarkisian insisted on
Tuesday that he will not travel to Turkey in October to watch the
return match of the two countries’ national football teams unless
Ankara moves to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul extended a relevant invitation to
Sarkisian after paying a visit to Yerevan in September last year,
during which the two leaders jointly attended the first Turkey-Armenia
game. The so-called "football diplomacy" ushered in a Turkish-Armenia
rapprochement that left the two neighbors on the verge of normalizing
their strained relations earlier this year.
But negotiations between the two countries have come to a standstill
after the countries on April 22 issued a joint announcement on a
"roadmap" to normalizing relations. The announcement came on the eve of
the annual anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Turkish
government and its timing is believed to have allowed U.S. President
Barack Obama to backtrack on his pledges to officially recognize
the genocide.
The statement was soon followed by repeated declarations from the
highest levels of Turkey’s government conditioning the establishment
of diplomatic relations with Armenia to a resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring Azerbaijan.
9 CGiven the existing situation, we certainly expect to witness soon
constructive steps with which our [Turkish] partners would try to
create a proper environment for the return visit of the president of
Armenia," said Sarkisian. That means taking "real steps" to honor
Turkish-Armenian agreements reached during the year-long dialogue,
he said.
"That is, I will leave for Turkey if we have an open border or stand
on the brink of the lifting of Armenia’s blockade," added the Armenian
leader.
The remarks reflected Sarkisian’s frustration with Turkey’s
unwillingness so far to unconditionally establish diplomatic relations
and reopen its border with Armenia despite concessions made by
him. Yerevan insists that the Turks dropped their preconditions for
normalizing bilateral ties during months of fence-mending negotiations.
Analysts close to the conflict, however, point to a long-running policy
in Ankara that has sought to couple rapprochement with Armenia to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in an attempt to convince international
mediators that the the success of one process hinges on the other.
Sarkisian is accused of willingly allowing Turkey to gain a foothold
in the Karabakh peace process and sacrificing U.S. recognition of the
Armenian genocide without securing the lifting of the 16-year Turkish
blockade or any guarantees for Karabakh. He is also being condemned
for his apparent acceptance of a Turkish proposal to form a panel of
historians that will "examine" the events of 1915.
Earlier in July, a two-day Pan-Armenian conference in Stepanakert,
organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, demanded Sarkisian
make immediate and drastic corrections to his administration’s
flawed approach to both the ongoing negotiations with Turkey and the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. A resolution, unanimously passed by the
summit’s 135 delegates on July 14, demanded that Armenia immediately
break off from negotiations with Turkey.
The ARF shortly after called for the resignation of Armenia’s Foreign
Minister Eduard Nalbandian to eliminate "the negative consequences
that have emerged in the foreign policy domain."
Under growing pressure at home, Sarkisian issued his warning to Ankara
after talks with Serbia’s visiting President Boris Tadic. He said he
briefed Tadic on his Western-backed diplomatic overtures to Turkey.
Sarkisian said the two leaders agreed on the need for a peaceful
resolution of conflict in the Balkans and the South Caucasus "in
accordance with the principles and norms of international law."
"We believe that there are no universal ways of solving conflicts,"
he told reporters. "Every conflict has its own history, causes and
its own unique course."
It was an apparent rejection of parallels between the conflicts over
Nagorno-Karabakh and K osovo, a breakaway Serbian region that has
been recognized as an independent state by much of the international
community. Kosovo’s secession in strong support for the principle of
territorial integrity voiced by Serbian leaders.
Tadic himself has called for the application of that principle to
the Karabakh dispute in the past. With journalists not allowed to
put questions to either president, it was not clear if he stands by
that statement.
Also, Serbia was one of the few European nations that voted in March
2008 for a UN General Assembly resolution that upheld Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh and demanded an "unconditional" Armenian
withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani territories.
ARMENIAN MUSIC BANDS TO PARTICIPATE IN BATUMI’S "GOLDEN FLEECE" CARNIVAL
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
28.07.2009 14:53 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On August 20-23, Batumi will host the first
"Golden Fleece" carnival, under the patronage of Georgian Tourism
Department. The event is financed by Conformance company.
According to Georgian Tourism Department Chairman Peter Kankava,
"Golden Fleece" carnival will promote cultural relations and tourism
among participating countries.
So far, music bands from 9 courtiers: Romania, Bulgaria, Armenia,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Greece, Poland and Latvia agreed
to participate.
Carnival’s prize fund comprises Euro 10 000. The carnival will be
conducted annually in a winner country.
SPORTINFO.AM NEW SPORTING WEBSITE OPENS
Noyan Tapan
July 24, 2009
YEREVAN, JULY 24, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY.
information-analytical Internet project on sporting started
functioning. Its goal is to become a source of information for sport
fans and professionals, to make sporting urgent materials of Armenia
reachable for a wide circle of readers.
The main goal of the project is to give the website
users possibility to get to know everything taking place in the
world of sport, both in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Diasporan Armenian
communities and in other parts of the earth. The main attention of
the website will be attached to the Armenian sport and its development.
The website users can find here the latest sporting news, get
acquainted with the current sporting federations, watch the calendar
of competitions to take place in Armenia or out of its borders. One may
choose a day and type of sport or get the list of events for a month.
You will be represented a voluminous encyclopedia in the Encyclopedia
part of the website where there is information about
eminent sportsmen and trainers who glorified Armenia in competitions
of the highest level.
MOSCOW TO COMBAT EXTREMISM AND XENOPHOBIA
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
22.07.2009 11:56 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Moscow committee of regional relations and
national policy suggested development of extra measures to combat
extremism and xenophobia.
Discussion of national policy issues was initiated after the closure
of Cherkizovsky market, which hosted some 3000 traders from foreign
countries.
According to committee head Mikhail Solomentsev, special working group
should be formed to patrol the districts where nationalists run riots.
An Instruction for Muscovites will also be published to teach tolerance
towards migrants.
"The initiative will not demand heavy expenses, but terms of
implementation have not been determined yet," he said.
ARMENIAN GDP DROPS BY 16.3% IN JANUARY-JUNE 2009 ON SAME PERIOD OF 2008
Noyan Tapan
July 21, 2009
YEREVAN, JULY 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s GDP dropped by 16.3%
in January-June 2009 on the same period of 2008 and amounted to 1
trillion 119 billion 368 million drams (about 3bn 66m 766 thousand
USD). The GDP index-deflator made 102.1%.
According to the RA National Statistical Service, industrial production
fell by 11.5% to 281bn 487.8m drams in January-June 2009 on the same
months of last year.
The gross agricultural output fell by 2.5% to 123bn 493.4m drams,
construction fell by 53.5% to 124bn 593.7m drams, the retail trade
remained at the same level and made 413bn 523.8m drams, while services
grew by 0.9% to 339bn 787.4m drams.
Armenia’s foreign trade declined by 31.5% in January-June 2009 on
the same period of 2008 and amounted to 1bn 659.9m USD, with exports
falling by 45.9% to 281.3m USD and imports declining by 27.5% to 1bn
378.6m USD.
Consumer prices rose by 2.7%, industrial production prices fell by 3.1%
in Armenia in January-June 2009 as compared to the same period of 2008.
The number of officially registered unemployed grew by 6.5% in late
April of 2009 as compared to the same month of last year and made
81.2 thousand.
The average monthly nominal salary amounted to 93,138 drams
in January-June 2009 (12.7% growth on the same period of 2008),
including the average salary of 81,282 drams (17.4% growth) in the
state sector and the average salary of 122,579 drams (6.9% growth)
in the non-state sector.
The average exchange rate of a US dollar made 348.04 drams in
January-April 2009.
AZERBAIJANI, RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN MOSCOW (UPDATE)
Today.Az
July 20 2009
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani, Russian, Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev
and Serzh Sargsyan met in Moscow on July 18.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev ended his working visit to Russia
and returned home on July 18.
At the Vnukovo-2 International Airport, President Ilham Aliyev was
seen of by Russia`s high ranking state and government officials.
In the evening, the President arrived in Baku.
At the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, President Ilham Aliyev
was welcomed by Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and Baku Mayor Hajibala
Abutalybov.
09:21
A trilateral meeting between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has
been held on July 18.
The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had constructive
meeting in Moscow, the Russian President’s assistant Sergey Prikhodko
said, RIA Novosti reported.
Leaders attended the races for the Russian President’s prize at
the central Moscow race track on July 18 in the morning. Later they
continued trilateral talks at a restaurant in Moscow.
"During the fourth today’s meeting of the Russian, the Azerbaijani
and the Armenian presidents, Dmitry Medvedev confirmed readiness of
Russia as co-chairman of the [OSCE] Minsk Group to make efforts to
find mutually acceptable ways to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,"
Prkihodko said.
Leaders of three countries discussed further ways to solve
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"According to the Russian side, long and very constructive meeting
has been held. Several issues that remained open were also discussed
during the meeting," Prikhodko said.
"The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan expressed gratitude to Dmitry Medvedev for his
efforts to make Armenian and Azerbaijani positions closer and promote
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," the Russian President’s assistant said.
The Australian
July 17, 2009 Friday
1 – All-round Country Edition
Aussie siblings on crash flight
by Ehssan Veiszadeh
TWO members of the Armenian-Australian community are thought to have
been on the Caspian Airlines plane that crashed in Iran on Wednesday,
killing all on board.
Community sources believe siblings Arin and Ani Melkomabkar were the
two Australians on board the flight.
An Armenian-Australian woman who asked not to be named said her
daughter was close friends with Ani.
“She was a very good girl,” the woman said. “She was so pious and
humble.”
Her daughter had been planning to accompany Ani on her trip to Iran
but had to cancel due to work commitments. “To think my daughter
could have easily been with her on that flight is so frightening,”
the woman said.
“Ani gave so much of her time to the community, volunteering to teach
Armenian on the weekends.”
Ms Melkomabkar taught Armenian to Year 1 students at Sydney’s
Toumanian Armenian Saturday school.
Although four independent sources have confirmed the identities with
The Australian, confusion still remains in the Armenian
community. “The Department of Foreign Affairs isn’t giving us any
information and even though everyone has accepted that Ani and Arin
were the ones, there is still a bit of doubt in the back of our
heads,” said the Armenian source.
The two Australians were among 153 passengers and 15 crew on Caspian
Airlines flight 7908 from Tehran to Yerevan, Armenia, when it crashed
on Wednesday, local time.
DFAT said assistance was being provided to the family of the two
victims.
Iranian authorities have said there were no survivors from the
crash. They have told consular staff they are not aware of any other
Australians on board the flight.