Armenian MPs summoned to testify on charges against opposition bloc
Arminfo
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The secretary of the [opposition] Justice faction, MP Viktor
Dallakyan, was invited to the Yerevan prosecutor’s office this morning
as a victim following a recent attack on him. After the attack, the MP
was brought to the Armenian Prosecutor-General’s Office as a witness
on the case against the Justice bloc, Stepan Demirchyan, the leader of
the bloc, told a joint news conference of the Justice bloc and the
National Unity party at the Armenian National Assembly today.
The chairman of the Antrapetutyun Party and former mayor of Yerevan,
Albert Bazeyan, said a member of the board of the party, Suren
Surenyants, had also been invited to the Prosecutor-General’s Office
as a witness on the case of the Justice bloc but was then detained on
charges.
He added that all deputies from the Justice faction had already been
summoned as witnesses to give evidence on the charges brought against
the bloc. However, Albert Bazeyan said, he was busy and refused to
report to the Prosecutor-General’s Office. The leader of the Justice
bloc, Stepan Demirchyan, also said he would “reject the invitation”. A
member of the party’s board and former prime minister, Aram Sarkisyan,
said he would “accept” the invitation to visit the
Prosecutor-General’s Office but only after opposition demonstrations
are over.
“After the demonstrations, no matter whether or not they are followed
by the change of the authorities, I will definitely meet
Prosecutor-General Agvan Ovsepyan,” Aram Sarkisyan said.
The leader of the National Unity Party, Artashes Gegamyan, said he
felt discriminated because the Prosecutor-General’s Office had ignored
him by not summoning him.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian opposition stands firm on staging demo on 9 April
Arminfo
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The Yerevan Mayor’s Office has not authorized an opposition rally on 9
April, saying that this action is inexpedient, the leader of the
Anrapetutyun Party and Yerevan’s ex-mayor, Albert Bazeyan, told a
joint news conference of leaders of the opposition Justice bloc and
the National Unity Party at the Armenian parliament today.
At the same time, Bazeyan said that the rally would be staged
regardless of the aforesaid decision because the opposition considered
it expedient.
A member of the Anrapetutyun Party board and ex-prime minister, Aram
Sarkisyan, said that there was no alternative to changing the
authorities in Armenia regardless of who led the people’s
movement. “The 9th of April will become a turning point in the fate of
the Armenian people, the process of changing the authorities has
already begun and it will be taken to its end,” Sarkisyan said.
According to him, the change of power is a demand of society and all
actions to meet this demand will be carried out urgently and
dynamically. Sarkisyan expressed confidence that many people would
attend the 9 April rally and help the opposition carry out the change
of the authorities without special effort and clashes. Sarkisyan also
said that the Georgian experience of the power change was unacceptable
for Armenia because the situation in Armenia was radically different
from the situation in the neighbouring republic.
According to Sarkisyan, the Armenian authorities are scared of people
because they realize that if masses attend the opposition rally, the
country’s leadership will be forced to resign. “Precisely for this
reason the authorities are committing repression against opposition
representatives, trying to intimidate people and keep them from
attending the rally,” Sarkisyan added. The opposition cannot be
intimidated by arrests and repression as it is determined to change
the authorities, he said.
Sarkisyan spoke highly about Armenian Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan’s
statement yesterday [7 April], in which he condemned political arrests
in the country which were presented as criminal. “Artur Bagdasaryan is
a young and promising politician, and he is rightfully not linking
himself with President Robert Kocharyan,” Sarkisyan said.
Speaking about arrests of opposition representatives, the leader of
the Justice bloc, Stepan Demirchyan, said that the Armenian people
would not tolerate arrests of deputies elected by them while criminals
were at large. The leader of the National Unity Party, Artashes
Gegamyan, added that the country’s authorities would make a major
present to the opposition if they arrested him and Stepan Demirchyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Opposition leader says “civilized authorities” to come to power in Armenia
Arminfo
8 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The authorities will be replaced in Armenia even if only 10 people
join the 9 April opposition demonstration, Artashes Gegamyan, leader
of the National Unity Party, told a joint news conference of the
Justice bloc and the National Unity Party at the Armenian National
Assembly today.
According to him, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has to show
common sense and resign a day or two after the opposition
demonstration because there is no alternative to changing the
authorities in Armenia.
“The longer the authorities delay the issue of resignation, the more
tragic the outcome will be for them,” Gegamyan said.
According to him, after Robert Kocharyan’s resignation, “civilized
authorities” will be formed in Armenia and improve the republic’s
image in the international arena. He said that after coming to power,
the opposition forces would use their election programmes to develop a
common plan to take the republic out of the current crisis. The
National Unity leader expressed his confidence that the opposition
would hold free and fair elections in the republic.
“Of course, Robert Kocharyan’s supporters will be protesting, but
those will be ‘cries in a desert’,” Gegamyan said.
The leader of the Antrapetutyun Party and former mayor of Yerevan,
Albert Bazeyan, said the international community should not interfere
in the political developments in Armenia and remain neutral. According
to him, the international community should only facilitate Armenia’s
democratic development.

WHOLE NATION SHOULD FIGHT AGAINST WITNESSES OF JEHOVAH
Arminfo, Yerevan
8.4.2004
YEREVAN, APRIL 7. ARMINFO. The whole nation should fight against the
religious sect “Witnesses of Jehovah” who tear down the national ideology in
Armenia. Leader of the party “Mek azg” Gor Tamazian declared during the
press conference in Yerevan.
Referring to official data, he informed that there are about 20,000
representatives of this sect, though according to non-official data their
number reaches 70,000. Armenia ranks the second among the CIS countries
regarding the number of registered representatives of the sect “Witnesses of
Jehovah”, the leader of the party mentioned. Tamazian stressed that the
actions of this sect and their agitation negatively influences the
spirituality and mentality of involved persons.
State bodies and the Armenian Apostolic Church show inactivity in the issue
of prohibition of the activities of this sect and other sects which act in
the country. Tamazian declared that on behalf of the party and Armenian
Nationalist front appeals the wide society and representatives of the of the
power to amalgamate in the joint struggle and legally to defend the country
from “false” spirituality and sectarianism. Tamazian mentioned that on Apr
18 the members of the parties, which form the Armenian nationalist front,
will organized a procession along the streets of the capital with slogans
against the sectarianism, in particular, against the official registration
of the sect “Witnesses of Jehovah”.

Armenian opposition bloc reports police violence against activists
Arminfo
8 Apr 04

YEREVAN
Twelve activists of the opposition Justice bloc and the National Unity
Party were recently subjected to administrative arrest, said a
statement issued by the political council of the Justice bloc and
Anrapetutyun (Republic) Party obtained today by the Arminfo news
agency.
According to the statement, over 20 people were brought to police
stations by force, illegal searches were carried out in the flats of
nine opposition activists, and 23 people were subjected to threats and
terror by the police. In connection with a criminal case brought
against the Justice bloc, members of the Armenian National Assembly
Albert Bazeyan (Republic Party leader) and Viktor Dallakyan (the
secretary of the Justice faction), Aramazd Zakaryan (a member of the
political council of the Anrapetutyun (Republic) Party) and his wife,
the leaders of the regional branches of the aforementioned parties,
Unan Mazmanyan, Zhora Sapeyan, Sayat Tumanyan and others were summoned
to the prosecutor’s office.
The political council of the Anrapetutyun Party has made repeated
efforts to clarify via the police information about the opposition’s
non-party supporters who were subjected to violence, but these efforts
were in vain. Therefore, the political council of the party cannot
name all the activists who were subjected to the law-enforcement
bodies’ violence, the statement said.

Armenian president, CIS security chief discuss cooperation
Mediamax news agency
9 Apr 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Secretary-General of the
Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] Nikolay Bordyuzha
discussed prospects of increasing efficiency of cooperation within the
framework of the CSTO in Yerevan today.
The Armenian presidential press service has told Mediamax news agency
that Nikolay Bordyuzha informed Kocharyan of the agenda of the next
session of the CSTO council.

Armenian, Azeri foreign ministers to meet in Prague on 16 April
Mediamax news agency
9 Apr 04
YEREVAN
The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Vardan Oskanyan and
Elmar Mammadyarov, are scheduled to meet in Prague on 16 April.
The press service of the [Armenian] Foreign Ministry has reported that
the meeting of the foreign ministers of the two countries will be held
within the framework of consultations organized by the OSCE Minsk
Group cochairmen.
The meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers was
to have been held in Prague in late March but was postponed at Baku’s
request.

Armenian deputy speaker says opposition plans coup
Golos Armenii, Yerevan
8 Apr 04

The Armenian opposition is planning a coup rather than a revolution,
the deputy chairman of the National Assembly, Vaan Ovanesyan, has said
in a phone-in. Opposition calls could affect unstable minds of their
supporters, which might result in confrontation with the police and
street riots, Ovanesyan said. Even if the president resigns, the weak
opposition will not be able to hold fair and transparent elections,
and “hostile and dull masses” will decide Armenian people’s fate, the
deputy speaker said. The following is the text of Lana Mshetsyan and
Tigran Mirzoyan report by Armenian newspaper Golos Armenii on 8 April
headlined “The opposition is preparing not for a revolution but a
mutiny”; subheadings inserted editorially:
Opposition plans coup
[Armen Manvelyan, teacher] Are you not frightened of provocations from
both sides during the demonstration of the Justice bloc and the
National Unity Party [on 9 April]?
[Vaan Ovanesyan] I am more worried than frightened. Calls to go to the
end and not to be frightened of “red liquid” [blood] and other
provocative calls have always been voiced from the opposition
side. Such calls might have an effect on unstable minds of some
opposition supporters, and naturally their behaviour might lead to the
counteraction of the law-enforcement agencies. But today it is
difficult to say if the opposition will go too far.
[Marina Samvelyan, sociologist] Do you agree that today’s opposition
is financially supported by external forces? If yes, what are those
forces?
[Ovanesyan] I do not rule out such a case. Certainly, I would not call
this direct bribery or recruiting. It is no secret that in the modern
world, in the developing countries the activity of different
international sources always involves financing of public and often
political organizations. In spite of the fact that this is forbidden
by the law, an unstable border between a grant and direct financing of
anti-government activities allows sponsors to break the law. The
situation in Georgia is a graphic example.
[Ara Israelyan, pensioner] Does it not seem to you paradoxical that
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] is
categorically against a revolution being prepared by the opposition?
[Ovanesyan] The opposition is preparing not for a revolution but a
mutiny, a coup. A revolution is a long process in all spheres of
society, including the mentality of people. What opposition is
planning is street riots which might shake the foundation of our
statehood, no more.
Let us suppose that the president of Armenia will tender his
resignation. Where is that force which will be able to ensure fair
and transparent elections within 40 days? Neither part of the power
pyramid nor weak opposition, which has not chosen its leader, can
regulate those processes. Hostile and dull masses, supplied with
money, will find themselves at the helm of our fate.
[Suren Magakyan, student] Do you think that the law-enforcement
agencies, police in particular, are able to take relevant measures to
prevent provocation which is quite possible during mass rallies?
[Ovanesyan] They can and must do that.
Strengthening factor for coalition
[Evgenia Akopyan, biologist] Do you agree with [head of the Republican
Party faction] Galust Saakyan that attacks by the radicals on the
authorities have become a strengthening factor in relations among the
coalition parties? Do you think that today this is the only factor?
[Ovanesyan] No, I do not think so. I think that concerns about the
future of the country called forth the setting up and strengthening of
the coalition. After the parliamentary elections, in which violations
were registered, it was clear that some movement was needed to
consolidate society. We tried to embody the idea of that movement in
the coalition. It is developing in several directions: anti-corruption
fight, strengthening of the economic potential of the country and
settlement of social problems. It is natural that these parties
[members of the coalition government] have different approaches to all
these problems, which leads to arguments and sometimes to
conflicts. In this sense I can agree with Galust Saakyan, simply
aggressive behaviour of some part of the opposition is dangerous for
stability.
[Passage omitted: question about discussions of water supply document
in parliament]
Charges of treason dropped
[Rafael Ayrapetyan, pensioner] You were convicted of “betrayal of
motherland” at one time. I wonder if the Supreme Court has acquitted
you. If yes, were those who issued the libellous verdict punished? If
you were not acquitted, on what grounds were you nominated to be
elected to the parliament and to the post of deputy chairman of the
National Assembly?
[Ovanesyan] To be honest, I am fed up with this question. I am often
asked it. I am repeating once again that I was not convicted of
“betrayal of motherland”. The preliminary conviction really had such
an accusation, but later it was dropped, and we were convicted of
making calls for an armed revolt. The verdict became invalid as the
authorities were replaced in Armenia. The case was dropped, for this
reason today we are not considered as convicted. By the way, even if
we were considered convicted, we have the right to be nominated as
candidates for parliament elections. I would like to add that
[Chairman of the Armenian National Assembly’s standing commission for
foreign relation] Armen Rustamyan and I were several times suggested
that the case be revised and consigned to the scrapheap of the
judicial annals. But we did not agree, because we are proud of what we
were fighting for.
[Passage omitted: question about returning of deposits]
[Oganes Ovsepyan, artist] Do you think that the Armenian Pan-National
Movement is behind many acts of provocation against our state,
including a revolution foreseen in April?
[Ovanesyan] Yes, I do.
Armenia lacks national idea
[Larisa Yagubyan, philologist] Why did the ARFD not take actions to
ensure the unity of ideology?
[Ovanesyan] The “unity of ideology” is somewhat an obscure idea to
me. The ARFD is a decentralized organization with a unified
ideology. I think it is nonsense to gain ideological unity with any
other parties. In all probability, you mean ideological unity in
society, which is impossible in a healthy and free society. But we are
not North Korea. As for a national idea, it should exist. In this
sense Armenia lags behind.
Our ideological disputes within society are not around the ways of
reaching the national ideal, but around the ideal itself. This is
really dangerous, as in stable societies all the layers, all the
political movements, parties and ideologies have a general national
model of development, that is an ideal. There are concepts of national
security and national development almost in all the countries of the
world. These concepts are in embryo in Armenia and have not been
completely defined. For this reason, we can have absolutely different
viewpoints even concerning the Budapest murder [of an Armenian officer
by an Azerbaijani serviceman].
Some people strongly condemn it and say that defects of Azerbaijani
society have given rise to Armenophobia, others condemn those who
condemn [the murder] and say that the feelings of the Azerbaijani
nation must not be insulted. It turns out that one can take an axe,
but one must not insult the feelings of a neighbouring nation.

SPORTING DIFEST: Boxing
The Independent – United Kingdom
Apr 09, 2004

Scott Harrison will defend his World Boxing Organisation featherweight
title against William Abelyan on 29 May at the Braehead Arena,
Glasgow. The Cambuslang fighter has been due to face the Armenian for
his last defence of the title last month before Abelyan withdrew
through injury. However, after defeating the stand-in opponent Walter
Estrada, Harrison will finally face Abelyan who has recovered from a
shoulder problem.

Armenian minister resigns over son’s arrest
Mediamax news agency
9 Apr 04
YEREVAN
Minister of Town Planning Ara Aramyan announced his resignation in
Yerevan today.
The minister said that the reason for his decision was the arrest of
his son, Hayk Aramyan, Mediamax news agency reports.
Hayk Aramyan was arrested several days ago on the case of shooting in
Triumf [Triumph] cafe in Yerevan on 12 March, in which five people
were wounded. The minister’s son is being accused under three articles
of the Criminal Code of Armenia – an attempted murder, hooliganism and
illegal possession of weapons.
The minister read out his statement which, in particular, said that
“recently there have been various speculation about the incident
connected with my son”.
“The preliminary investigation has not been completed yet, and I
believe that a just verdict will be passed. At the same time,
considering the artificially created fuss which could discredit my
name, the good reputation of my party and the image of the country’s
leadership, I believe that I am morally obliged to resign,” Ara
Aramyan’s statement said.
Aramyan is a member of the Orinats Yerkir [Law-Governed Country]
Party, which makes up the coalition together with the Republic Party
and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD].