Author: Toneyan Mark

Armenian stance on Garabagh ‘unchanged’

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 17 2006

Baku, July 14, AssA-Irada — Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
has said his country’s position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict remains unchanged.

Yerevan will inform the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
Bryza about this during his upcoming visit to the region in August,
Oskanian said. He stated that activity aimed at the conflict resolution
will be somewhat stepped up after the American intermediary’s visit.

Bryza is expected to hold talks in Baku and then in Yerevan.*

Garabagh mediators ‘should not stay out’ of talks – Azeri minister

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 14 2006

Baku, July 13, AssA-Irada — Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov has said there is a need for further efforts of the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairmen mediating settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh dispute and the intermediaries should not
estrange themselves from the peace process.

"The co-chairs should not stay aside from talks and just wait for
the proposals of the conflicting sides," Mammadyarov said.

He said nearly all principles have been agreed in the negotiations
and differences remain only on one or two issues. "Discussions in
this respect are currently underway," the minister said.

Commenting on the latest statements by the mediators, he said they
should be seen as the co-chairs’ reporting to the OSCE Permanent
Council on the work done so far.

The US co-chair of the Minsk Group Matthew Bryza said earlier that
the mediators submitted a framework accord to the sides and outlined
its key principles.*

RUSSIAN SIDE CLOSED VERIN LARS DELIBERATELY, HOVHANNES HOVHANNISIAN CONVINCED

YEREVAN, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Russian side has deliberately closed the
Verin Lars check-point, for the purpose of keeping Armenia depending on
Russia." Hovhannes Hovhannisian, Chairman of the Liberal Progressive
Party of Armenia, declared at the July 14 meeting at the Pastark
club. He stated that Verin Lars is the only motorway connecting Armenia
with Russia, while for Georgia, it is not "a road of vital importance"
at all. As H.Hovhannisian asserted, the check-point’s closure also
destabilizes the domestic situation in Armenia and causes discontent
with the authorities.

SERZH SARKISIAN DENIES PLANS TO HAND ARMENTEL TO RUSSIAN COMPANY

Armenpress

ARMENPRESS, JULY 12, ARMENPRESS: Armenian defense minister Serzh
Sarkisian, who is also a cochairman of the Armenian-Russian commission
on economic cooperation, downplayed today media allegations that
authorities in Yerevan were preparing to hand over ArmenTel telephone
operator to a Russian company.

Sarkisian said 90 percent of ArmenTel share was owned by Greek OTE
which has announced a tender to sell its Armenian subsidiary.

Serzh Sarkisian said none of top government officials in Yerevan was
lobbying the interests of the Russian Sistema corporation that has
qualified for ArmenTel tender through its resale carrier subsidiary
MTS. Media speculations here claimed that ArmenTel was ostensibly
promised to Sistema in return for a pledge to buy also Mars electronic
plant in Yerevan that was handed to Moscow in 2002 together with four
other enterprises to write off Armenia’s $96 million debt to Moscow.

Sarkisian was talking to a joint news conference with Russian transport
minister Igor Levitin who said Sistema was mulling purchase of a
long-term lease Mars plant.

The Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) revealed on June 22
that it short-listed Russian Vimpelcom and Mobile Telesystems (MTS),
as well as the consortium of Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
(ETISALAT) / Istithmar PJSC /Emergent Telecom Ventures (ETV) and the
VTEL Holdings / Knightsbridge Associates for the next phase of the
tender for ArmenTel shares.

European Parliament postpones the vote on Turkey to September

ArmRadio.am
12.07.2006 13:33

The vote on the draft resolution on "Turkey’s progress toward
accession," which should have been voted on Wednesday, July 12th by
the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, was
postponed due to practical reasons, reported the European Armenian
Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD).

The major reason for delay was the late translation of the numerous
amendments. These amendments were submitted only on Monday afternoon
to the various political groups, which did not leave time to them
to prepare for the vote.

While the provisional report made only vague references to Armenian
concerns, the amendments tackle key concerns comprehensively. Many
parliamentarians from the main political parties – including
the Christian Democrats, Socialist, Liberal, and Communist –
unanimously call on Turkey to "withdraw without condition the
blockade of Armenia" and to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide as
"a prerequisite to accession".

The European Parliament resolution will finally be voted on the first
week of September by the Foreign Affairs Committee and eventually on
the last week of September in the plenary session.

Head of Ago Monitoring Group of Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Replaced

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.07.2006 14:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The head of the Ago Monitoring Group of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CMCE) is replaced. Swedish
Ambassador Gper Stjorgan will head the Group instead of Roland
Wegener. July 12 the report on the outcomes of the Ago Group’s visit
to the South Caucasus was heard. The Group checks the fulfillment of
commitments by CE member states. During the latest visit to the region
the mission had meetings with representatives of political parties,
human rights advocates and officials of South Caucasian countries.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

AGBU MELBOURNE LAUNCHES ONLINE ARMENIAN HERITAGE CENTRE

Melbourne, Australia — With funding support from the Australian
government, AGBU Melbourne launched on April 24, 2006 the online
Armenian Heritage Centre (), entitled
"Recollections," the only Australian Armenian oral history website. The
well-attended ceremony of over 120 guests took place at the Glen
Waverly Community Center.

With the goal of promoting the Armenian identity, culture and history
in Australia, detailed interviews were conducted on family backgrounds;
reasons for relocation; experiences of leaving their countries of
origin; resettlement in Australia; involvement in the local Armenian
community; and the broader questions of identity.

Nine months later, the full transcripts of second and third generation
immigration stories of 40 Australian Armenians from Melbourne and
Sydney are now available online for research or general interest.

To request copies of the digital video and/or audio extracts
at a nominal processing and duplication fee, please complete
the form available on the Armenian Heritage Centre website at
For more information, please email
[email protected] or write AGBU Armenian Heritage Centre,
P.O. Box 5230, Mordialloc, 3195, Australia.

For more information on AGBU and its worldwide Chapters, please
visit

THIS YEAR TOO, ARMENIAN ARTISTS PARTICIPATE IN "SAINT PETERSBURG
PALACES" 14TH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

YEREVAN, JULY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. RA people’s artists Araks Davtian,
Barsegh Tumanian and "Shoghakn" ethnographical ensemble participated
in the "Saint Petersburg Palaces" 14th International Music Festival
held on June 24 – July 1 in Saint Petersburg. Hasmik Poghosian, RA
Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs handed the RA People’s Artist
certificate to B.Tumanian just during the press conference.

As Araks Davtian informed at the July 11 press conference, world
famous musicians and musical groups take part in the "Saint Petersburg
Palaces" annual festival established by Konstantin Orbelian in 1992. In
her words, this year the representatives of U.S. and Italy performed
works of Aram Khachatrian, Makar Yekmalian and Alexander Haroutiunian
during the final concert. According to her, the performances of
B.Tumanian and "Shoghakn" ethnographical ensemble were warmly accepted.

In the words of Hasmik Haroutiunian, soloist of the "Shoghakn"
ensemble, such festivals give possibilities to present the Armenian
national culture to the world.

THIRD GOLDEN APRIOCT FILM FESTIVAL KICKS OFF

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS: The third Yerevan International Film
Festival Golden Apricot was officially opened today in Yerevan Moskva
Cinema and will run through 10-15 July.

The main theme of the festival is Crossroads of Cultures and
Civilizations. Directors and their films from around the world, borne
of different cultures and a variety of aesthetics have convened in
Yerevan , on the crossroads of yesterday’s and today’s cultures.

The films are presented in two international competition sections:
features and documentaries produced in 2004-2006. One Grand Prize
Golden Apricot and one Special Mention will be awarded in each
category.

The festival has a special pan-Armenian competitive section Armenian
Panorama for short, feature, documentary, and animation films produced
in 2004-2006 by filmmakers of Armenian descent.

The 3rd Yerevan International Film Festival will also feature
the following sections: Yerevan Premieres offering the best recent
art-house films, Retrospectives of the works of world famous directors,
and other sections and events.

COMMISSION STUDYING CONSEQUENCES OF A-320 PLANE’S ACCIDENT RECEIVES
NEW IMPORTANT INFORMATION

YEREVAN, JULY 10, NOYAN TAPAN. New important information was received
as a result of the modelling of A-320 plane flight in Tuluz. This
information will be compared with the data received earlier. As Noyan
Tapan correspondent was informed by Gayane Davtian, Spokeswoman of
the Civil Aviation Chief Department, only after it the International
Aviation Organization will present the final conclusion of the
commission studying the accident consequences.

G.Davtian also informed that the results of studying accident reasons
will be discussed on July 10 in Sochi at the International Aviation
Organization’s Sub-committee.

To recap, the plane flight modelling was done at the Airbus SAS company
with participation of Armenian and Russian aviation authorities,
specialists of the French Research and Analytical Bureau.