Author: Varosian Antranik

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICANEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]

May 18, 2006
On May 18, 2006, U.S. Ambassador John Evans participated in the official
opening of the Library Science Computer Laboratory at the Yerevan State
Pedagogical University. The creation of the computer lab was made possible
by the donation of six computers and the installation of library automation
software by the U.S. Embassy in Armenia. The Pedagogical University provided
the newly refurbished room for the laboratory.
Since 2000, the Information Resource Center of the U.S. Embassy has
cooperated with the School of Library Science at Yerevan State Pedagogical
University. This has included bringing in American speakers every year to
lecture on modern developments in library science, as well as an expert in
2005 to help design a new, up-to-date library science curriculum. The
Information Resource Center and staff are an open resource for all students
and researchers who want to learn more about the U.S. and about developments
there.

AZERI, ARMENIAN MINISTERS MULL GARABAGH IN STRASBOURG

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 19 2006

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met his Armenian
counterpart Vardan Oskanian in Strasbourg on Thursday to discuss the
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict on the sidelines of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe session.

The two met first with the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen,
followed by the mediators’ separate meetings with each of the
ministers.

The discussions came ahead of the co-chairs’ next visit to the region,
scheduled for late May. Unlike before, deputy foreign ministers of
the three countries co-chairing the Minsk Group – Russia, France and
the United States – are also expected to arrive in Azerbaijan and
Armenia for talks. It is not known at this point which deputies are
expected on the visit.

ABOUT 500 HARDWARE PIECES TO BE WITHDRAWN FROM RUSSIAN MILITARY BASES IN GEORGIA IN 2006

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire
May 19, 2006 Friday

Over 500 hardware pieces and in excess of 2,000 tonnes of materiel
and ammunition will be withdrawn to Russia from its military bases
in Georgia in 2006, Army General Alexander Baranov, commander of
the North Caucasus Military District, said in an interview with the
Krasnaya Zvezda daily, published on Friday.

“If Georgia observes all its commitments as outlined in the agreements
signed, we will guarantee the withdrawal in the timeframes set. We
must implement the agreements reached by the heads of states in a
civilized manner, and we are ready for that,” he said.

Compliant with the agreements reached a quota has been granted for
400 railway cars to carry Russian weapons and materiel from Georgia
into Azerbaijan, Baranov noted.

He added that part of the equipment will be handed over to the 102nd
military base in Armenia to increase its combat potential. “The first
column of tracked and wheeled vehicles will march there soon,” he said.

In response to questions, he said that the construction of
infrastructure for two mountaineer brigades in Dagestan and
Karachayevo- Cherkessia should be completed in the first half of 2007.

“The deployment of these brigades is an important military and
political objective of the country, because now we have to bring
forces to the republics from other regions of the country when this
is necessary. But soon we will no longer have to do so. Moreover,
the mobile mountaineer brigades will be able to exercise missions
assigned not only inside the responsibility zone, but also wherever
this might be needed,” he said.

Baranov added that the selection of commissioned and non- commissioned
officers for the brigades will start in 2007. “I can reassure you
that the brigades will be manned with best trained servicemen, with
mountain climbing qualifications, and, which is even more important,
most advanced weapons,” he said.

WHO TRIED TO CONCEAL THE REAL CAUSE OF THE PLANE CRASH?

Lragir.am
19 May 06

I believe that the Russian side is not to blame for the crash of A320
of Armavia Airlines near Sochi, stated Aram Karapetyan, the leader
of the Nor Zhamanakner Party (New Times) on May 19. Before May 17
Aram Karapetyan would have accepted the impression and opinion that
there is reluctance to retrieve the black boxes of the aircraft from
the sea. “However, something happened the day before yesterday, and
now the Russian government will do everything to retrieve the black
boxes and decipher.” Aram Karapetyan will tell later what made Russia
to adopt such a fundamental decision. He will simultaneously publish
the findings of his personal investigation. Presently, he can only
give some information: “I can state clearly that there are no phrases
of abuse for Armenians in the talks with the dispatchers.

It is bad to politicize the plane crash. The Russian side acknowledges
that the question will be manipulated unless the black boxes are
retrieved. No one from the Russian side has stated that 8 tons of
fuel was collected from the sea surface. The black boxes will allow
finding out the truth.”

Aram Karapetyan says it is surprising that after the crash the
defense minister of Armenia left for Sochi instead of the minister of
transport or the Attorney General. The leader of the Nor Zhamanakner
Party thinks that even if there had been an arrangement to hide the
real cause of the crash, “it was a deal between two people, not an
official approach of Russia’s.”

BELARUS TO HOST MEETINGS OF CIS EURASIAN BLOC, CIS SECURITY BODY IN MAY, JUNE

Belapan news agency, Minsk
17 May 06

Belarus will host a meeting of the Integration Committee of the
Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC, member states are Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and a
session of the EAEC Interstate Council at the level of the heads of
government on 18-19 May, the Belarusian news agency Belapan reported
on 17 May, quoting the first deputy foreign minister of Belarus,
Vasil Puhachow.

All member states will be represented by prime ministers, except for
Kyrgyzstan, which will be represented by the president’s envoy for
integration issues, the news agency added. The meeting will focus on
efforts to create a customs union within the EAEC framework, Belapan
reported, quoting Puhachow.

Belarus will also host summits of the EAEC and the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan) at the level of heads of state on 23-24 June, Belapan
said, quoting Puhachow.

WE ARE GOING TO APPLY TO INTERNATIONAL COURT

Panorama.am
16:56 17/05/06

The Armenian foreign ministry on behalf of the government expressed its
support to the experts on Armenian genocide working within the World
Armenian Congress. “Our dispositions were very seriously discussed
for the first time,” Ara Abrahamayan, the Head of World Armenian
Congress told reporters today.

In his words, in the course of three years the experts have come up
with proposals but no conclusions have been drown yet. Abrahayman
could not say either when such conclusions will be reached.

Several experts have suggested applying to the international court
but that is not going to be soon.

The experts are ready for court procedure and have developed 200
questions which may be asked during interviews.

EUROVISION BRACED FOR HEAVY METAL
By Michael Osborn
BBC News entertainment reporter

BBC News, UK
May 16 2006

Thirty-seven countries are lining up for this year’s Eurovision Song
Contest in Athens on 20 May.

The 50-year-old musical event throws up a few surprises and a little
controversy every year.

An intimidating hard rock band, a multi-national pop group and the
return of a former winner are among this year’s ones to watch.

For their 40th attempt to win the Eurovision Song Contest, the Finnish
people have chosen metal act Lordi to represent them in Athens.

The five-piece will perform Hard Rock Hallelujah clad in gruesome
costumes and monstrous masks.

They refuse to appear in public out of costume, while their grotesque
make-up takes three hours to apply.

The band are so protective of their rock alter-egos, their real names
remain a secret.

Finland’s Lordi proclaim the coming of the “Arockalypse” with
their song.

They are known as Amen the unstoppable mummy, Enary the manipulative
valkyrie, Kalma the biker-zombie and Kita the alien manbeast.

Kita has the “combined strengths of all the beasts known to man”,
while he and the others are led by Lordi (The Lord).

With lyrics such as “wings on my back, I got horns on my head, my
fangs are sharp and my eyes are red, not quite an angel or the one
that fell, now choose to join us or go straight to hell,” Finland’s
choice has prompted some marginal controversy.

Lordi’s “Day of Rockoning” will be in the Eurovision semi-final on
18 May, where they hope to attract enough votes to propel them into
the grand final.

In 2005, Norway entered a glam rock act to make a splash at the
contest – they qualified for the final where they finished ninth.

[parts omiited]

ARMENIA – ANDRE The Eurovision family grows larger this year with
the inclusion of Armenia in the contest for the first time.

Andre has twice won best male singer at Armenia’s music awards

The former Soviet republic, which has land borders with Iran,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia, is taking its first Eurovision
campaign very seriously.

One of the country’s best-known singers, Andre, will be the first
performer on stage in the semi-final on 18 May.

Armenia’s official Eurovision website is urging its sizeable
communities living abroad to vote for their song and land them a
place in the grand final.

NAVIGATOR SHIP WITH ROBOT BEGINS A-320 PLANE BLACK BOXES LIFTING

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 16 2006

KRASNODAR, May 16 (Itar-Tass) – The Navigator special ship with a
robot on board put out to the Black Sea early on Tuesday in order to
launch the operation to lift from the seabed the flight data recorders
of the crashed A-320 airliner of Armenia’s Armavia company.

The vessel was in the designated area at 06:20, Moscow time and the
crew began the operation, Itar-Tass was told by telephone from the
Navigator.

The robot was installed on the ship on Monday. It was brought to
Sochi by the Kapitan Beklemishev scientific-research ship from
Novorossiisk. Last week specialists tested the robot in the area of
the Tonky cape just opposite Gelendzhik. According to the head of the
special ship’s crew, specialist of the Yuzhmorgeologiya federal state
institution Igor Lagoida, the apparatus was designed for lifting
geological specimens form the seabed and examining underwater oil
and natural gas pipelines. It is for the first time to fulfil the
task of lifting a plane’s black boxes.

The robot consists of three parts, the largest is a container with
control equipment. The next segment with photo and television equipment
will go to the bottom of the sea and examine it. The third device is
a hydraulic elevating manipulator working in all directions. It will
lift on board containers and possibly pieces of the wrecked plane if
they have a weight less than 12 kilogrammes.

According to captain of the Navigator Ivan Bezborodov, “The vessel has
a system of dynamic positioning that allows it to stay in a circle 10
metres in radius, which will make it possible for the robotic device
to work normally in deep sea.

The operation is expected to take three days.

Accoridng to available information, the plane’s flight data recorders
are at a depth of 496 metres, the distance between the recorders is
some five metres.

The airbus A-320 of the Armavia company fell into the Black Sea on
the night of May 3 during landing approach at the Sochi airport. The
catastrophe claimed the lives of 113 people.

MAMMADOV: NO AGREEMENT ON MEETING BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA PRESIDENTS IN PARIS
Author: E. Husseynov

Trend, Azerbaijan
May 16 2006

There has no been any agreement on the meeting between Azerbaijan`s
and Armenia`s Presidents to be held in Paris at the end of May, the
Chief of the President`s Apparatus Department of External Affairs
Novruz Mammadov exclusively told IAA “Trend”.

According to him the possibility of meeting between the two presidents
during the Spring Session of NATO Parliament Assembly in Paris is
just a fantasy of the journalists who suggested if Robert Kocharyan
and Ilham Aliyev participate in the forum journalist fantasy, a next
round of negotiations will be.

Moreover, Mr. N. Mammadov confirmed that President Ilham Aliyev willl
take part at the session at the end of May. “He is to take part and
delivery a speech to 450 representatives of NATO member-states during
the plenary session. The President is to tell about measures taken
towards Azerbaijan`s integration into Euro Atlantic structures”,
he told.

Greece preparing for Eurovision-2006

ArmRadio.am
13.05.2006 15:22

This year the Eurovision song contest annually organized by European
TV Companies will be held in Greece, at the Olympic complex of
Athens. Armenia will be represented by `Best singer of the year’
Andre.

The festival will be held May 18 and 20. The first day 10 out of the
24 participants of the semifinal will pass to the final. The best song
will be chosen on May 20.