Month: November 2006

FORMER NAGORNO KARABAKH RESIDENTS RESIDING IN RUSSIA EXPRESS INDIGNATION WITH IDEA OF "DELAYED REFERENDUM"

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

ROSTOV, NOVEMBER 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A group of refugees
from former residents of Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) currently
residing in the territory of Rostov region of Russian Federation sent
a written appeal to NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian, as well as to
the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno Karabakh. According
to the editorial staff of the Yerkramas (Territory) newspaper of
Armenians of Russia, the authors of the appeal express indignation with
plans of settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict voiced in speeches
and statements of a number of politicians envisaging holding of some
"delayed referendum" on state-legal status of NKR with participation of
"Azerbaijani refugees who have returned."

At that, as the authors of the statement mention, nothing is said
about return of refugee-Armenians to their lands, to Shahumian region
occupied by Azeris, to parts of Martakert and Martuni region of NKR,
and about subsequent participation of Armenian refugees in the supposed
"delayed" referendum. "While, the above mentioned territories are
integral parts of Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the borders of which were
formed in September-December 1991 as a result of free and legal will of
territory’s residents. In this connection we announce to Co-chairs of
OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno Karabakh that there can be no referendum
and its legal results if the will of the Armenian refugees from NKR
and Nagorno Karabakh regions adjoining it is ignored. There cannot
and will not be a division of refugees into the "first sort," by which
the international mediators mean former Azerbaijani national minority
of Nagorno Karabakh and into the "second sort," among which, to all
appearances, the mediators number representatives of the Armenian
people of Nagorno Karabakh," the appeal read.

The authors of the appeal also call NKR President Arkady Ghoukassian
for providing their right of vote at the Referendum on NKR Constitution
to be held on December 10, 2006, as well as including Armenian refugees
from NKR and former NKR residents who will express willingness into
the electoral rolls for voting and organizing participation in voting
through creating the respective electoral districts where possible,
in the Republic of Armenia, NKR, as well as in the places of their
current residence beyond the bounds of the region.

According to the information of the Yerkramas newspaper, the authors
of the appeal are natives of Nagorno Karabakh who were born and
lived there for the most or considerable part of their life and had
to leave the lands of their ancestors during Azerbaijan’s aggression
against the Nagorno Karabakh people.

GOVERNMENT’S DEVICES ARE PRIMITIVE

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

The leader of the Homeland and Honor Party Garnik Margaryan commented
on the situation in Armenia, the anti-criminal movement and its
results in an interview with the Lragir.

– The press has already reported that the outcome of the parliamentary
election of 2007 is already clear. The "specialists" of fraud,
ballot stuffing, disappearance of ballot boxes will do their job,
either in the divisional or the central commission. When we initiated
the anti-criminal movement, many people thought that we were going
to expose separate minor crimes. Thanks God, most people realized
in time that the anti-criminal movement was going to become a wall
against the criminal coup of the criminal regime.

The consolidation of the criminal in the Republican Party was
intended to pull off a criminal coup. An attempt was made to turn the
political party into a monster and seize power by getting hold of all
the government levers. This process is underway, but the regime has
realized that there are forces in the country which would not allow
another crime against the country and people. Realizing this and along
with this the regime tried to take another track. It set up a political
party, the Bargavach Hayastan Party to use the immense economic
potential, which is not the result of work, place these political
parties into political developments and reproduce through them.

The anti-criminal movement will go on, and it has two goals, the first,
as I said, is to prevent a criminal coup, the second is to create a
certain basis to hold out the materials on people who are responsible
for the crimes they commit now to the law enforcement agencies of
tomorrow’s government. Besides responsibility, everything they have
robbed must be nationalized.

The law prohibits charity by political parties. However, Bargavach
Hayastan is lavishly distributing aid. It is interesting to know
on what money. If it is at the expense of the income of business,
let them set up a charity. Isn’t it at the expense of immense profits?

Why are they worried and are distributing everything from vegetables
to agricultural materials? For electioneering they should have waited
until the pre-election period. All this comes to prove that the
government think they are smart, and are trying to forge an electorate
through "charity". This is dangerous for the country.

The regime chose a criminal way, joined the criminal clan, the
criminal penetrated into the four main institutions, the president
administration, the legislative, the executive and the judicial bodies
and started robbing. They live under their own laws, and the government
became a marionette. Isn’t it a tragedy when an Armenian woman, a
teacher, is run down in front of the policeman and the policeman does
not notice the number of the car, the car is not arrested. I believe
that like in the case of the brother of Muk (Ara Abrahamyan – ed.) an
official or an oligarch was driving, his offspring or relative. It
means that the law does not work, there is anarchy in the country.

This is a marionette government, and the world powers are playing
with it. The Property for Debt and other projects show that we have
a marionette government. They agree to give away anything to remain
in their office. However, this time this won’t work. The political
life of marionettes is very short. They are squeezed like a lemon
and thrown away.

The anti-criminal movement, the movement of civil defiance and the
other initiatives show that the unification of healthy forces is a
political necessity. People should become alert and stand up, display
their resolve. The pro-government forces and individuals are trying
to discern controversies among us. But when a person is not sincere,
and wants to do something for the state, together with him I think
about our future. These devices are very primitive.

OPPOSITION SHOULD RUN UNDER MAJORITY SYSTEM

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

Should the opposition run for parliament under the majority system?

The Lragir conducted a poll among its readers to find out their
opinion on a question which has become one of the focal topics of the
internal political developments. During the poll that lasted for two
weeks, 93.8 percent of our readers think the opposition should name
candidates from constituencies. 6.2 percent of the participants of
the poll answered no.

UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF DONATIONS FROM ARMENIA

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

After the telethon Armenia Foundation continues getting a great number
of donations from companies, organizations and individuals.

The sum of the Armenian donations has reached 2 million dollars. The
executive board of the foundation reports that Armenia has not had such
a high rate in terms of both the sum and the number of participants. In
Armenia, large donations were made by the Copper and Molybdenum Factory
100 million drams, the Ministry of Transport 48 million 125 thousand
drams, Karabakh Telecom 40 million, ASHIB 15 million drams, ACBA Credit
Agricole Bank 25 thousand dollars, Armenian Railroad 11 million drams,
the Central Bank of Armenia 10 million 175 thousand drams, the ministry
of defense and Minister Serge Sargsyan 10 million 500 thousand drams,
Molybden Production 15 thousand dollars, as well as Yerevan Foundation,
Flash Ltd., Anelik Bank, Converse Bank, Unibank 5 million drams
each. Armenia Foundation got 3 million 486 thousand drams from the
regional administration of Lori, 3 million drams from the Republican
Party, Armpost, the National Security Service, Yerevan State Medical
University each, as well as donations from different organizations.

ARMENIA IS THE CONTRARY OF EUROPE

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

We accept 80-90 percent of European values, and we must adopt them,
said the leader of the National Democratic Union Vazgen Manukyan on
November 28. He thinks we should adopt them before Europe imposes.

Especially that under this government "these values are adopted in
a distorted way."

Nevertheless, Vazgen Manukyan thinks that in the upcoming 15-20 years
Armenia will not enter the European Union, and maybe it will never
do. "The current processes are such that Turkey cannot be admitted
to the EU."

Vazgen Manukyan also announced that the world, including Europe,
realizes that Armenia needs a modern nuclear power plant. "But as
long as there is not a new one, the old one must keep on working."

This is the response to the EU stipulation on closing down the
nuclear plant in the upcoming decade. Vazgen Manukyan thinks that
the European values are based on political competition, whereas in
Armenia it is the opposite. The quality drops with every election,
and the tools of falsification are improved.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FIRST PRESIDENT IS RESPONSIBLE, SECOND GOVERNMENT

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

Republican Member of Parliament Rafik Petrosyan stated November 28 at
the Friday Club that the bill on expropriation passed on November 27
has a number of drawbacks. Amazingly, however, lawyer Rafik Petrosyan
voted for the bill. His logic is that no law is worse than a bad law.

Rafik Petrosyan thought so when he voted. Now he thinks that the
opposition will go to the Constitutional Court, and as a result the
law will be refined and made constitutional and almost perfect. If the
opposition does not go to the Constitutional Court, Rafik Petrosyan
thinks that the Republican majority will gradually improve the bill it
passed. In answer to the question whether it was so urgent to adopt
the bill with so many disadvantages, and whether it was adopted to
legalize the past expropriation and decisions on future expropriation,
Rafik Petrosyan says no. According to him, the law, even though it
is imperfect, was necessary to regulate this sphere.

Vardan Mkrtichyan from the opposition thinks that even after the
adoption of the bill the field is not legal because the law is
unconstitutional, and therefore Ardarutiun Alliance is likely to
go to the Constitutional Court. It is clear what it will change –
nothing. The Constitutional Court has already made a decision that the
government decisions on expropriation are unconstitutional, however,
nobody was punished for unconstitutional actions. Republican Rafik
Petrosyan cannot say who should be punished for the illegal eviction
of the citizens.

"Some member of the government? This is already the internal problem
of the government. If they wish, they can reprimand an official who
pushed through the bill in the National Assembly. In fact, there is
not a definite person who could be accountable," Rafik Petrosyan says.

Vardan Mkrtichyan, a member of Ardarutiun Alliance, enumerates people
who are responsible. "First, it is Robert Kocharyan, second it is
the government, the whole government. Why? In 1998 the Constitutional
Court passed a decision that the government does not have the right
to make a decision on this issue, it should be regulated by the law.

The government, however, made a decision, and Robert Kocharyan signed
it," Vardan Mkrtichyan said.

Besides, Rafik Petrosyan says after the decision of the Constitutional
Court and the bill passed by the National Assembly the victims of the
unconstitutional decisions of the government can go to the court and
revise the decision of the court. However, Vardan Mkrtichyan says in
answer that the victims of previous and recent expropriation cannot
go to court because the bill provides for expropriation for primary
interests but does not define what a primary interest is.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FOR REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IT IS UNFAVORABLE TO LISTEN TO RAFIK PETROSYAN

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

Recently the Constitutional Court of Armenia has declared some
government decisions and provisions of some laws unconstitutional.

Apparently, the system of public administration, which drafts and
implements laws, is not aware of the Constitution of Armenia. The
majority of this system are Republicans, therefore we asked Republican
Member of Parliament Rafik Petrosyan, lawyer, chair of the State and
Legal Committee, if the public men in charge of public administration
do not know the Constitution.

"Making laws is work, and the one who works may make mistakes.

Similarly, the National Assembly makes mistakes in adopting the laws
due to unawareness or political expediency. The Constitutional Court
was set up, and taxpayers pay their salary, to make the laws comply
with the Constitution," Rafik Petrosyan says.

With deep respect for the opinion of the parliamentarian lawyer,
we nevertheless dared to ask why in that case the lawyers of the
government and the National Assembly get salaries from the taxes that
people pay.

"In the National Assembly, the members of parliament allegedly,
as well as the government, have the right for legislative action.

Usually, the members of parliament are not professional lawyers,
they do not hire assistants to help them through drafting laws, and
sometimes they offer things to the committees that either you have to
draft it anew or you have to throw it away. The government presents 70
percent of bills. They also make mistakes, the National Assembly is a
political body, and sometimes it is not taken into account whether it
is right or wrong, if the majority decides that it should be adopted,
it is adopted," Rafik Petrosyan says.

It means that the lawyers hired at the National Assembly, the
government agencies, the ministries are absolutely redundant, if in
adopting laws the Republican majority places the political aspect
superior to the legal aspect.

"There are lawyers, and I am one of them. When, for instance, the
law on expropriation was adopted, I warned for several times at
the rostrum that they will go to the Constitutional Court and two
provisions will be defined as unconstitutional," Rafik Petrosyan says.

And why does the majority refuse to listen to Republican Rafik
Petrosyan? Petrosyan says they need to do so. In other words, the
majority apparently needs to overlook the Constitution. "No, they
think they are right. In most cases they listen, in 80 percent of
cases. In this particular case, they did not listen because it is
not favorable," Republican Rafik Petrosyan confesses.

BRAZEN CHARM OF A "FAILURE STATE"
James Hakobyan

Lragir, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

In the civilized world, as they usually put it, the government
takes care of the needs of the citizens. Generally, the idea of
government was born out of need, as an effective means of meeting
the needs of the society. I do not know whether the reason is the
imperfection that everything is the contrary in the Armenian state,
and the citizens satisfy the needs of the government rather than
the government satisfies the needs of the citizens. And if this was
unconstitutional up to November 27, now this already has legal force.

Now the public need will be the term to give to the act of depriving
someone of their home, land, property. At first sight, this does not
contradict to the duties of the government before the citizens. After
all, in order to meet the needs of a major group of its citizens the
government often has to give trouble to another group of citizens.

This is quite normal, and sometimes even inevitable. In Armenia,
however, it is upside down. There is a vivid example – North Avenue,
which is considered the largest urban project of the Third Republic.

The government of Yerevan and Armenia usually boast that even the
wealthy Soviet Union could not implement Alexander Tamanyan’s project,
whereas the Third Republic is implementing it. We can leave aside
the fact that North Avenue of the government in its present form has
nothing to do with Tamanyan’s project except for its location and
direction. We can leave aside that it is highly disputable whether
this large business and residential compound is needed in the Center
of Yerevan. After all, Tamanyan’s vision of Yerevan was a city with a
population of 300-500 thousand, whereas the population of Yerevan is a
little more than 1 million, and the Center of Yerevan is facing a vital
need for reducing traffic rather than a necessity for crowding. We
can leave all these things aside, although this single fact shows
that North Avenue does not have a public importance.

There are other factors, however, which show that a great number of
inhabitants of the Center of Yerevan were deprived of their property
because it was necessary for a group of official and oligarch owners.

North Avenue is going to have a function, the absence of which would
make no difference for the public life. For instance, if a Diaspora
Armenian or a successful businessmen lived on the outskirts rather than
the Center, the public and the government would gain more, because
on his outskirt he would have to create certain infrastructures for
himself, which would favor the even development of the city. Meanwhile,
now it appears that the government needs to provide a class with
elite apartments and offices. People have invented the government for
these situation to enforce the law of the state in the society, not
the law of the jungle. And now, having the example of North Avenue,
by voting consciously or unconsciously for legalizing expropriation
of people’s property for the needs of the government, the National
Assembly of Armenia establishes jungle relations in the Armenian state.

Certainly, it is important to have a modern-looking town, and replace
the old huts with new ones. The citizens who lost their apartments
in the Center of Yerevan would gladly agree to move to other parts
of the city if instead of building a bourgeois neighborhood in the
place of their houses a road junction were built which would take
away heavy traffic off the Center. However, first it is necessary to
build a state which would take care of the needs of its citizens.

KARABAKH REFUGEES APPLY TO ARKADY GHUKASYAN

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

A group of Karabakh refugees, who are currently residing in Rostov
region of the Russian Federation, submitted a written application
to NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs. "Yerkramas" newspaper of Russian-Armenians reports that
the authors of the application were irritated by statements of
some political figures on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,
according to which it is envisaged to hold a "delayed referendum"
featuring "returned Azerbaijani refugees." The authors of the
application note that nothing is said about the Shahumyan region
occupied by Azeri troops, the return of Armenian refugees to NKR
Martakert and Martuni regions and their participation in the "delayed
referendum." "However, the above-mentioned regions are the indivisible
part of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the borders of which were formed
in September-December 1991 through the expression of the free will of
the region’s population. In this regard we inform Mr. Co-Chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group that there can be no referendum and no legal results
of it if the will of the Armenian refugees of Nagorno Karabakh and
adjacent territories is ignored. The authors of the document urge
Arkady Ghukasyan to secure their right to vote in the referendum
scheduled December 10, 2006, to include the Armenian refuges in the
voting lists where it is possible – in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh or
the current places of residence of the refugees."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SERGE SARGSYAN: MILITARY ACTIONS WILL NOT RESUME IN FORESEEABLE FUTURE

Public Radio, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

"Today the threat of resumption of war has not been completely
eliminated, but I can definitely assert that military actions will
not resume in the foreseeable future," Secretary of the Presidential
Council on National Security, RA Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan
said in Noyemberyan during the meeting with parents of the region’s
servicemen. According to him, being a frontier settlement, Tavush was
the first to feel the consequences of the war. "The Defense Minister
must be always ready that the war may start tomorrow, but there is
no real threat of war in the nearest future," noted Serge Sargsyan.

Turning to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the
Defense Minister expressed confidence that the issue should be
resolved based on mutual concessions. The main objective is the
following: NKR people should live safely on its land. According to
Serge Sargsyan, the security guarantee is that Artsakh must never
be under Azerbaijani control or exist separately as an enclave and
should have a land border with Armenia. The Minister informed that
today the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Robert Kocharyan and
Ilham Aliev will meet in Minsk today.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress