VISION EXPANDS INTO ARMENIA

Financial Mirror, Cyprus
March 27 2006

Vision International People Group Public Ltd. announced the expansion
of its operations to Armenia through the establishment of Armenia
Vision LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary. The aforementioned company
operates the downstream selling and distribution activities of the
Company and commenced trading on March 25, 2006 from its new centre
in Yerevan.

In a separate announcement, Vision International People Group Public
Ltd announced the resignation of Stuart J.Ord from the position
of Investor Liaison Executive of the Company. The Company will be
appointing a new Investor Liaison Executive shortly.

AZERBAIJANI GRANDMASTER SHAHRIYAR MAMMADYAROV: “I WILL QUIT THE NATIONAL TEAM”

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 27 2006

“Azerbaijan Chess Federation leadership shows disrespect,
ill-discrimination for the chess players.

They involve who they want in the national team. Just imagine that
those selected to participate in the Olympiad have less rating and
experience than those who are not selected,” two times world champion
among youth, Shahriyar Mammadyarov, told APA exclusively. Saying
weak chess players have been involved in the composition of our
team of women to participate in Olympiad in Turin, Italian city. Mr.
Mammadyarov thinks that the strongest should represent Azerbaijan in
this competition.

“Firuze Valikhanli, Ilaha Gadimova, Turkan Mammadyarova and others
gained experience in international tournaments. They are the
strongest chess players in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gained higher
places in Olympiads held in 2002-2004 thanks to them. They shared
-5-8th places winning Armenians in the competition. They have been
removed from the national team now. Do they deserve this disrespect?
Federation leadership is not right”.

He also stressed that he will quit the national team.

“We-most grandmasters are of the same opinion. We plan to quit the
team objecting to this bias. If the federation does not correct its
errors and does not end discrimination against the chess players,
I will quit and will not represent the federation any longer”.

National team chief coach Fikrat Sideifzade told APA that he had
spoken with Mammadyarov about this matter.

“Even we requested him to join the Olympiad. But it is a pity that he
wants to quit the national team because the problem has no relation
to him”.

ARMENIA TO JOIN MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS EXERCISE IN EUROPE

RIA Novosti, Russia
March 27 2006

YEREVAN, March 27 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia will take part in an annual
U.S. European Command-sponsored military communications exercise in
May 2006, an official said Monday.

Colonel Seiran Shakhsuvaryan said Armenian military experts had
participated in the final exercise-planning meeting in Georgia on March
21-24 and added that the country would establish a satellite link with
the communications center in Germany that will coordinate the exercise.

The exercise aims to check the communications capabilities of the
participating states.

According to the USEUCOM Web site, “Combined Endeavor 2006 is an
annual, U.S. European Command-sponsored, ‘in the spirit of’ NATO’s
Partnership for Peace, exercise focused on the integration and
interoperability of command, control, communications and computers
(C4). The exercise achieves interoperability between multiple nations,
developing operational joint multinational C4 networks.”

The exercise involves NATO-countries, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine
and several ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia.

ARMENIANS BROKE CEASE-FIRE IN GAZAKH AND TOVUZ

Azerbaijan Press Agency
March 27 2006

Armenians violated the ceased-fire in the direction of Azerbaijan’s
regions of Gazakh and Tovuz.

The Defense Ministry informed APA that the companies of Armenian armed
forces, from their positions in Mazamli village, Gazakh, fired on the
opposite positions of Azerbaijani armed forces and Mazamli village
from 15.15 till 19.35 on 26 March.

Armenian forces again fired on Azerbaijan’s positions in unnamed
mountain height in Gazakh from their positions in 2.2 km to Vazashen
village, Ijevan, from 23.20 till 23.30. The enemy forces, from their
positions in 2.7 km of Aygezor village, Berd, and 1.7 km south-east
of the mountain Lagzival, fired on the Azerbaijani Army’s positions
near Munjuglu and Garalar villages of Tovuz region.

The enemy was silenced by response fire, no loss is reported.

LIFT SECRECY LID OFF THE MYSTERIOUS ARMENIAN DUO
By Lumiti Cedric Khabuchi

Kenya Times, Kenya
March 27 2006

MERCENARIES or no mercenaries, it cannot be wished away that this
government is juggling with the security of its citizens. Those charged
with ensuring our security owe Kenyans an explanation regarding this
Armenian saga. Any wonder that the whole issue has now been narrowed
down to politics as usual with its attendant blame game as the whole
country keeps guessing what really is happening?

It is naive to assume these are ordinary illegal immigrants. It
is more persuading given what has been going on to conclude they
are well connected individuals with strong ties to people in power
or close to those in power which explains the essentially lukewarm
reaction the government gave what started as a rumour that strange
individuals were suspiciously operating in the country.

Instead of closely following the leads given by Raila Odinga, including
the exact location of the said ‘mercenaries’, the government instead
surprisingly, trashed the information as untrue and a fabrication with
conflicting responses from the police commissioner and the CID chief
both of whom ironically are supposed to coordinate investigations.

Push has now come to shove and anxious Kenyans are demanding an
explanation detailing who really is hosting these liberally ‘golden
visitors’. With conflicting statements from confused state officials
streaming in, it remains to be seen how a government that always
seems not to know what to do will act given that time is running out
and the whole issue getting blown out of proportion. For the minister
in charge of immigration to differ with Kenya Airways officials over
what plane allegedly flew in one of the foreigners is a case of the
right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

To start with and perhaps in characteristic manner, the president
has not found it worthwhile commenting on this very critical issue
touching on state security despite being the custodian of the safety
of his subjects.

We have watched in awe as the government spokesman who happens to
play the role of spin doctor for the blunders of his bosses rubbished
the allegations as ‘uwongo na upuzi mtupu’. Somebody please tell Dr
Alfred Mutua that the ills being committed by these septuagenarian
pensioners will remain to haunt him since he still has a long future
to take care of.

It is startling that suspicious foreigners can enter into the country,
be given state security, chauffeured around in government cars and
accorded state honors and five star accommodation presumably paid for
by the taxpayer who is not told who they are and to what their mission
is. It pains that despite paying heavily for our extravagantly pampered
government while the rest of Kenyans survive on a shoe string budget,
the ingrates can still bring in strangers who threaten our security
and still expect us just to smile it away.

If really the government was unaware of the Artur brothers, the first
thing it would have done would be to put them in custody while going
on with investigations to ascertain their mission. This was not done
and the two still go about their unknown business with impunity. It
is worth noting that Artur Margaryan is the only individual who is
not a government official but uses a ‘GK’ vehicle.

If really the said Orange Democratic Movement leaders had deals
with the two ‘golden brothers, then it could give the beleaguered
government a leeway of netting its harshest critics in the name of
Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka at last.

I refuse to buy the line that these people held talks with the Orange
luminaries. The talk of loaning Odinga more than Sh100 million does not
add up. Which serious businessman would lend a stranger on the first
meeting such a colossal sum of money without any paper work and not
forgetting that the amount was in cash? I mean how serious was Odinga’s
problem with the alleged girlfriend to warrant such huge sums of money?

I also have a feeling that in terms of money spent during the
referendum campaigns, the whole country saw what happened and which
side was spending government funds to bribe voters. We have not
forgotten Kiraitu Murungi’s statement that the government war chest
for the exercise was meant to shake every corner of the country.

Kenyans are now an enlightened lot and had already known that the
infamous Banana constitution was unworkable and a government project
as Murungi said. I, therefore, will continue treating the allegations
against ODM leaders as cheap propaganda to shift attention by a
government cornered in the middle of a crisis.

Coming hot on the heels of a thuggish midnight raid on the Standard
group by hooded government agents that left a terrified staff and a
trail of destruction ranging from disabling computers, looted mobile
phones, burning newspapers to shutting down the group’s TV station
for more than 12 hours. Surprisingly non-Kenyan looking individuals
were spotted in the raid. We all know that our police force has
no Caucasians and therefore the demand to know who the white man
who was commanding the raiders was. It is not by coincidence that
just around the same time two strangers have been forced from their
hideouts by our hawk-eyed opposition only to come and claim that they
are businessmen. This government should remember that the media was
there long before they came to power and they will leave it there on
return to the opposition benches which they greatly miss.

My fear is that from the look of these expensive men, their mode of
dressing, sly disposition and golden jewellery while we do not know
their business, they might either be international criminals of the
‘Carlos the Jackal’ type or drug dealers on a transit mission. At a
time when we as a nation have a cool Sh.6.4 billion worth of cocaine
in our stores and authorities who have been foot-dragging to speed
up the case and bring the concerned to book, we might as well not
rule out the possibility of the second option.

It might not be a coincidence that these two men have appeared at
a time when there are spirited call from both the locals and the
United Nations Office on drugs and Crime for the destruction of the
drug haul. The drugs must be weighed and certified packet by packet
before destruction. For a country reeling on the pangs of starvation,
official corruption, political blackmail and aid freeze, this is just
another of the string of worries the common Kenyan has to live with.

Any issue of national importance that is not well explained to the
masses leaves room for all kinds of speculation.

FRANCE INCLUDES GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS EVEN IN MEDICAL BOOKS
By Emre Demir, Strasbourg

Zaman, Turkey
March 27 2006

In France, allegations on the so-called Armenian genocide have made
their way into medical books. It has been revealed that the so-called
genocide-advocate Armenian lobby holds the copyright of some books
used in French medical faculties.

In the prefaces of Axel Balian’s books, a book students must buy,
genocide allegations are included. In the book, the European Union’s
starting negotiations with Turkey is also criticized. The whole
income of Armenian Balian’s seven books is transferred to the Armenian
associations. Especially Turkish students studying in medicine faculty
have concerns over their money being transferred to the Armenian lobby.

In France, which officially recognized the so-called Armenian genocide
in 2001, doctors joined the debates over “genocide” after politicians
and historians. In Balian’s “Hepato-Gastro-Enterologie,” book, which
is used for stomach-intestine specialization, the European countries,
which started full membership negotiations with Ankara, are criticized.

There are some striking remarks in the preface: “The income of this
book will be transferred to the associations, which are trying to
evoke the ‘genocide’ took place in 1915. Few people remember the
1.5 million Armenians that lost their lives while fleeing and in the
camps. This book is prepared in the hope that those who seem ready
to make a ‘denying country member of the EU’, should also remember
the genocide.” The Armenian doctor has seven books on the same subject.

All of the books refer to the so called Armenian Genocide and the
Copyrights of the books were transferred to Armenian Foundations.

Turkish students, who are obliged to buy these books at medical
faculties, are unhappy because their money is transferred to “genocide”
foundations. Straoussgbourg Pasteur University Freshman student Fatih
Akin said: “We have to buy this book to pass the course; however, we
are not comfortable as our money is sent to the foundations making
genocide propaganda.” Akin also said it is interesting a medicine
book gives place to a political issue like this in its preface session.

Hosting about 500,000 Armenian immigrants France had passed a law
recognizing the so called Armenian Genocide in 2001. Armenians
are quite influential in France, which hosts the biggest number
of Armenians in Europe. Tension increases every year on April 24
in France, the Genocide commemoration day, and 450,000 Turks in
France become offended by these genocide discussions. Recently the
Turks living in Lyon had organized a protest march against the
second genocide statue in the city. Some events had taken place
after Armenians attacked Turks during the demonstrations and Lyon
Governorship explained it would not longer tolerate demonstrations
against the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian Diaspora defends the number of Armenians that died between
1915 and 1916, when the Emigration Law was implemented in the Ottoman
Empire, reaches 1,500,000. The Armenian Genocide claims have been
accepted by the parliaments of 15 countries so far.

ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET RUSSIAN OFFICIALS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
posted on March 27 2006

Baku, March 24, AssA-Irada
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian will visit Moscow on April
6-7. He is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei
Lavrov and the Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, according to
Armenian media.

Although the issues to be discussed during the visit are not reported,
it is beyond a doubt that the parties will table settlement of
the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh.

SEARCH ON FOR MISS ASIA USA: MARIANA HOVHANISYAN IS MISS ARMENIA
By Fred Ortega, News-Press and Leader
Tammy Abbott / News-Press

Glendale News Press, CA
March 27 2006

Fashion show on Sunday kicks off annual pageant, which again will be
at the Alex Theatre.

Photo: The Miss Asia USA Fashion Show was held Sunday at the Ambassador
Auditorium in Pasadena. Mariana Hovhannisyan, 18, a Glendale resident,
is Miss Armenia.

Marina Hovhannisyan is proud of her Armenian heritage, and she hopes
to further understand the Armenian culture through her participation
in the Miss Asia USA pageant.

“I love my country and my people, and I am very proud of being
Armenian,” said Hovhannisyan, 18, of Glendale, one of 30 contestants
in this year’s pageant, which will be held April 29 at the Alex
Theatre. “I want the American people to get to know my culture, the
people and the history of Armenia, and I hope to help accomplish that
through my involvement in Miss Asia USA.”

Hovhannisyan, who came to Glendale from Armenia five years ago,
participated in a fashion show and press junket Sunday along with
the rest of the Miss Asia USA participants at Maranatha High School
on the Ambassador Auditorium campus in Pasadena.

“It is my first pageant and I am very nervous, but I am also getting to
meet people from different nationalities, getting to know the girls,”
said Hovhannisyan, this year’s Miss Armenia. “I also like the part
of dressing up, and walking in front of all these people. It makes
you feel special.”

The contest is open to single women ages 18 to 28 whose ancestry
is at least 25% descended from one of the 58 countries of Asia and
Asia Minor. In addition to coming from the traditionally recognized
East Asian countries like China, Japan, and Korea, contestants
also represent nations as diverse as Yemen, Israel, Russia, Ukraine
and India.

This will be the third year the event is held at the Alex Theatre.

The contest, which will be hosted by KABC-TV Channel 7 sports anchor
Rob Fukuzaki and Showbiz India TV anchorwoman Reshma Dordi, will also
be broadcast in late summer or early fall on Charter video on-demand
and on the ImagineAsian TV network, potentially reaching more than
six million viewers.

It is natural that the pageant be held in Glendale, said Councilman
Dave Weaver, who is in charge of the event’s logistics.

“At least half of the population of Glendale is of Asian or Asia
Minor stock,” Weaver said. “There are more than 10,000 Filipinos,
12,000 Koreans and 70,000 Armenians in the city.”

Despite these numbers and the prevalence of Asian culture in American
society, many Americans are still in the dark about the diversity
and true nature of Asians, said last year’s Miss Asia USA Jenn Chu.

“People in the United States don’t pay attention to Asian culture,”
said Chu, who lives in Calabasas and participated in 2005 as Miss
Korea. “People mix up Korean and Chinese, Indian and Indonesian. So it
is important to showcase these differences through events such as Miss
Asia USA. Also, people who are only a quarter Asian can participate,
so they get to experience even that little bit of Asian culture
they have.”

The pageant also welcomes multiple entrants representing the same
country. For instance, Krystle Lacap of Beaumont is one of three Miss
Philippines in this year’s event.

“It is a great opportunity, full of new experiences,” said Lacap, 21.

“Getting to know the different girls and their backgrounds has been
great. It is great to become involved and showcase some of the many
cultures in the U.S.”

For more information on the Miss Asia USA pageant, visit

http://www.glendalenew spress.com/front/story/41645p-62323c.html

PRESENTATION OF THIRD EDITION OF STATISTICAL BROCHURE TITLED WOMEN AND MEN OF ARMENIA TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006

YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. Presentation of the third edition of
statistical brochure titled Women and Men of Armenia is to be
held Tuesday in Yerevan. UNDP Yerevan Office told ARKA News Agency
that the book contains information about expected life interval,
average age of contracting a marriage, the number of abortions,
reproductive performance coefficient and the most widespread names
given to newborns.

NKR FM REPRESENTATIVE FINDS ICG’S PROPOSAL TO INVOLVE SOUTH CAUCASUS UNRECOGNIZED COUNTRIES IN EU INTEGRATION PROCESSES POSITIVE

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006

STEPANAKERT, March 27. /ARKA/. Irina Beglaryan, Chief of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry’s unit in charge of
politics, said Friday commenting on the Group’s report published
earlier this week on European Union role in South Caucasus conflicts
settlement that she found International Crisis Group’s proposal
to involve South Caucasus unrecognized countries in EU integration
processes positive.

“Idea of intensifying inter-parliamentary dialogue between conflicting
sides in South Caucasus deserves attention”, she said.

In her opinion, proposal to involve EU Special Envoy in the
negotiations run in the frames of OSCE Minsk Group is interesting
as well.

On one hand, new players and new approaches can speed up the process,
on the other hand unnecessary decentralization of the efforts can
hobble it.