RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER NOT ENTIRELY HAPPY AFTER TALKS WITH NATO

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
2 May 06

Moscow, 2 May: Moscow will build its relationship with NATO “depending
on where and how the alliance’s reform and expansion process proceeds
and how international law is observed, and with account of how Russia’s
interests are observed in the context of a changing geopolitical
situation in the world”, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today
as he briefed President Putin on the outcome of the Russia-NATO
Council meeting.

The meeting was “on the whole not bad” in Lavrov’s estimation,
but he was only entirely happy with the working document adopted on
Russia’s initiative. “It was on the whole not bad, a businesslike
working document was adopted that was drawn up on Russia’s initiative
and sums up the Council’s achievements over the past four years,” he
said in reply to a question from the president, who began a session
with the government with this issue today.

Lavrov noted that the document “lists the [existing] accords and
how to further improve the quality of our interaction as equals,
and it specifies work to be done on a plan adopted earlier to fight
terrorism”.

He elaborated that Russia and NATO will “exchange information, hold
joint exercises and training sessions in tackling cyberterrorism, take
joint action to improve air-defence interoperability, and strengthen
reactions to man-made and natural disasters”.

“A number of specific moves to step up the fight against the drugs
threat from Afghanistan are planned,” Lavrov added. But he complained
that NATO does not want to collaborate in this area with the Collective
Security Treaty Organization. “Our counterparts are still unwilling
to establish collaboration with the CSTO, even though we again tried
to convince them how useful such collaboration would be,” he said at
the meeting with Putin.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed on 15 May 1992 by Russia,
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. On 14 May
2002 it was decided to change this grouping into the international
Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“Are you happy with the outcome?” Putin asked.

“We’re happy with the document, which makes it possible to deepen
cooperation on an equal footing,” Lavrov replied.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AIRLINER CRASHES OFF RUSSIA: REPORTS

Reuters
Tuesday, May 2, 2006; 9:07 PM

MOSCOW (Reuters) – An Armenian Airlines aircraft carrying about 100
people on a flight from Yerevan to the Russian seaside resort of Sochi
has crashed into the Black Sea, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

RIA news agency said the emergencies ministry had sent an amphibious
plane to the scene of the crash, and that fragments of the plane were
visible on the surface of the sea.

Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov was quoted as saying the plane was
an Airbus 320 and had vanished from radar screens at 2.15 am (6:15
p.m. EDT Tuesday) near Sochi, a Russian resort near the Georgian
border.

He said the plane was carrying at least five children, and that
difficult weather conditions were complicating the search for
survivors.

PLANE CRASHES IN RUSSIA WITH 100 ABOARD

AP
Wednesday May 3, 2006 2:46 AM

MOSCOW (AP) – An Armenian passenger jet with 100 people aboard crashed
early Wednesday off the Black Sea coast shortly before it was to land
in the Russian city of Sochi, Russian news agencies reported.

Wreckage from the plane was found not far from the shoreline, the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting Russian Emergency Situations
spokesman Viktor Beltsov. The Interfax news agency reported that
rescue teams at the site pulled the body of a woman from the sea.

The Airbus A-320, which belonged to the Armenian airline Armavia,
disappeared from radar screens at about 2:15 a.m. local time, the
RIA-Novosti agency reported. It was flying from the Armenian capital
Yerevan to Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea in southern Russia,
and was carrying 92 passengers – including five children – and eight
crew members, ITAR-Tass reported.

Rescuers found parts of the plane nearly four miles from the shore,
along with empty lifejackets – an indication that passengers had no
time to put them on, ITAR-Tass quoted an unidentified local emergency
official as saying. The rescuers were working in a driving rain,
Russian news agencies reported.

KYRGYZSTAN GOING TO DEVELOP COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA IN DIFFERENT FIELDS

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2006 23:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today newly appointed Kyrgyz Ambassador to Armenia
Apas Jumangulov (residence in Moscow) presented copies of credentials
to the Armenian FM Vartan Oskanian, reports the Press Service of
the Armenian MFA. During the meeting the parties expressed content
over the current state of Armenian-Kyrgyz relations and mentioned
the impending work for strengthening ties. Implementation of joint
programs in specific fields can promote that goal. The Ambassador
emphasized Kyrgyzstan is going to advance cooperation between the two
countries in different fields. The interlocutors also discussed the
matter of strengthening cooperation within international organizations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORUM IN YEREVAN TO MARK 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIA’S ACCESSION TO CE

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.05.2006 23:31 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Achievements in building pluralistic democracy
based on respect for human rights and rule of law during Armenia’s
five year membership in the Council of Europe will be the main theme
of the “Armenia and the Council of Europe: Five Years of Membership”
conference, which will take place on Friday, 5 May 2006. According to
the information provided to PanARMENIAN.Net, the conference intends to
bring together national policy makers, RA National Assembly deputies,
civil society and media as well as representatives of international
community to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Armenia’s membership in
the Organization and exchange views on future cooperation between the
Council of Europe and Armenia. The conference will be concluded by a
panel discussion entitled “The Many Facets of Cooperation: Armenia’s
Contribution to Building European Standards” with participation of
Armenian professionals engaged in the Council of Europe activities
regarding Armenia.

We note that Armenia became a Council of Europe on 25January 2001.

KOCHARIAN: COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND KYRGYZSTAN SHOULD BE DEVELOPED

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.05.2006 00:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today newly appointed Kyrgyz Ambassador to Armenia
Apas Jumangulov (residence in Moscow) presented credentials to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian, reports the Press Service of the Armenian
leader. During the meeting Kocharian indicated the need to renew ties
between the two countries and enhance the level of information about
each other. At that he added that thus all cooperation opportunities
will be used to the full. In his turn the Kyrgyz Ambassador underscored
the availability of good preconditions for strengthening ties,
noting active involvement of the Armenian community of Kyrgyzstan
in the state system and industries among them. Besides, the parties
discussed the process of political and economic reforms in Kyrgyzstan.

MSNBC HAS STARTED A NEW SURVEY ON THE PBS PANEL ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Panorama.am
18:39 27/04/06

The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) has sent e-mails
to thousands of Turks asking them to vote FOR the panel. As of now,
55% of the voters have voted for the panel.

Please click on the link and Vote NO to preserve the memory of the
genocide.

GEORGIA, RUSSIA, ARMENIA AND ABKHAZIA TO DISCUSS RESTORATION OF ABKHAZ RAILWAY

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.05.2006 00:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Director General of Georgian Railways Public
Corporation Irakly Ezugbaya will take part in the meeting of the
quadripartite commission (Georgia, Russia, Armenia and Abkhazia)
on restoration of the Abkhaz part of the Tbilisi-Sochi railway.

“During the session of the commission in Moscow May 3-4 creation of
a consortium with participation of all four sides of the project will
take place,” Spokeswoman of the Director General of Georgian Railways
Public Corporation Tamara Machavariani said.

In her words, according to preliminary data, the project cost
fluctuates between $200 and $250 million, while the share participation
of the consortium members is still subject to discussion, reports
Novosti Gruzia.

We note that rail communication between Georgia and Russia through
Abkhazia was stopped right after the Georgian-Abkhaz armed conflict
commenced in 1992-1993.

THEY SILENCE JOURNALISTS WITHOUT KILLING THEM

A1+
[05:39 pm] 02 May, 2006

“No one can suppress the truth for ever, but some people never stop
trying. It is journalists who pay the price” said Terry Davis on the
occasion of the 2006 World Press Freedom Day.

“Restrictions on freedom of expression are widespread, often violent
and sometimes lethal. In 2005 more than 150 journalists around the
world died carrying out their profession, and more than half of them
were murdered. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been deprived of their
freedom being either kidnapped or put in prison, and there are no
reliable statistics for those who have been threatened or persecuted.

As a rule, journalists in the 46 Council of Europe member states are
no longer tortured or killed, but that does not mean that they are
always free to do their work. The European Convention on Human Rights,
calling on public authorities to refrain from interfering with freedom
of expression, is frequently ignored. Some journalists may be silenced
through intimidation, others may be bought into compliance, but the
end result remains the same because democracy cannot properly function
without media which is genuinely free of governmental interference
and control.

A particularly insidious form of intimidation is the threat of
prosecution for libel. In fact, more than two thirds of the Council
of Europe member states maintain criminal sanctions for defamation,
and these laws are often used to stifle criticism. I call on all
Council of Europe member states to review their legislation, abolish
criminal provisions and prevent disproportionate damages in civil
cases against journalists. Progress in the protection of journalists
is the only credible way to mark the World Press Freedom Day. “

WE ENCOUNTER REGRESS, GENTLEMEN!

A1+
[07:35 pm] 02 May, 2006

“Democracy has developed asymmetrically within the recent 14 years
in Armenia since the proclamation of independence. Though Armenia was
the first country among the Soviet former republics to put an end to
communists’ power, the absence of the efficient system of checks and
balances, the centralization of the president’s liabilities and the
lack of independent civil service paved a way for a weak governing
system and spread corruption,” the 2005 review of “Freedom House”
organization begins with these words.

The organization deems the RA election procedure a serious obstacle
for democracy; “The public inconfidence to the election procedure was
determined by the high – rank officials’ failure to hold democratic
elections.” According to Ann Walker, the reporter of “Freedom House”
on Armenian issues, though the Constitution guarantees a number of
fundamental provisions for human rights protection, in fact there
are many obstacles hindering their efficient protection. “Judicial
system has little independence.”

While speaking of the corruption deeply rooted in the country, Ann
Walker first of all laid the stress on official corruption. “The
close ties of the political and economic elites and the absence of
efficient law implementation give ground for official corruption.”

The representatives of “Freedom House” maintain that the discord
between the Government and the Opposition will still strengthen at the
turn of the year; on the eve of 2007 elections. The organized attached
importance to the role of mass media in establishing democracy in
the country and mentioned that the Armenian media turned “from half
independent” to “half dependent” in the course of 2002 – 2003. “The
main free Armenian TV channel “A1+” was embattled in 2002 and was
unable to resume its frequency license. The members of the Commission
on television and radio are so far appointed by President Kocharyan.”

The representatives of “Freedom House” stated at the end of their
review that they held a thorough survey taking into consideration
their meetings with the Government, political figures, NGOs and
representatives of mass media. By the way, certain journalists inquired
about the results of the Armenian observation in comparison with the
Georgian and Azeri ones. As it turns out, there has been progress in
Georgia in connection with democracy, whereas the state of Azerbaijan
is worse than that of Armenia.

This is a real consolation for Armenia.