Month: April 2007

PACE DELEGATION ARRIVING IN ARMENIA TODAY

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2007 10:07

PACE ad hoc Commission on monitoring of the parliamentary elections
is arriving in Armenia today. The Commission features Leo Platvoet
(Netherlands), George Colombier (France), Bernard Market (Monaco)
and Evald Lindinger (Austria).

On April 11 the delegation is scheduled to meet with the Special
Representative of the Council of Europe Secretary General, head of the
OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, President of the Central Electoral
Commission. The same day in the Council of Europe Office members of
the delegation will have a meeting with representatives of NGOs and
mass media, Ambassadors of CoE member states.

On April 12 members of the PACE delegation will meet with
representatives parliamentary factions and groups.

On April 12 the delegation will be received by Presidents of the
National Commission of TV and Radio and the Council of Public Radio
and Television Council, Justice Minister David Harutyunyan and Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian, as well as the Chairman of the National
Assembly of Armenia Tigran Torosyan.

The same day members of the delegation will meet with RA President
Robert Kocharyan and President of the Central Electoral Commission
Garegin Azaryan.

On April 13 the meetings of the observation commission will be
concluded with a press conference.

On April 14 the delegation will leave Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIAN PM CONGRATULATED SERGE SARGSYAN ON APPOINTMENT

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2007 12:12

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghadieli congratulated Serge Sargsyan
on his appointment as RA Prime Minister, RA Government’s Press and
Information Department informs.

The congratulating message says, in part: "I’m confident that your
experience and skills will enable you to continue the policy of
your government targeted at the development and prosperity of the
country. I believe that as a wonderful example of friendly strategic
partnership Armenian Georgian relations will further reinforce for
the sake of our peoples," the Georgian PM wrote.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MAGNITUDE 4 EARTHQUAKE AT THE IRANIAN-TURKISH BORDER

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2007 13:13

This night an earthquake took place at the border between Turkey
and Iran.

ArmInfo was told at the National Survey for Seismic Protection that
a magnitude 4 earthquake was registered 45 km to the southeast of
the Iranian city of Maku at 02:24 local time. The strength of the
quake reached 5-6 in the epicenter. The earthquake was followed by
two aftershocks.

I HOPE THAT YOU WILL FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE
Wolf Bruhn

KarabakhOpen
09-04-2007 16:40:43

Acoording to KarabakhOpen the Karabakhi section of the ARF considers
supporting a single candidate.

Unfortunately, parties always tend to take possession of the state. In
order to prevent this from happening both a multiple party system
and a critical society are needed. As the Dashnaks say, the Karabakhi
society is apathetic and it seems they are right. Clever as they are,
the Dashnaks use the very first chance to force a certain candidate
predetermined by the parties on the people. But even given a multiple
party system and a critical society, it is difficult to avoid that
a multiple party system as a whole takes possession of the state,
as you may study in the West–and that is exactly the Dashnaks try
to do right now.

I say this because I cannot believe that any sensible person may
think that elections are the cause why a society is divided. It
may happen that a society besomes more devided on the occasion of
elections (or the opposite) but in any case one has to distinguish
between desease and symptom. The Karabakhi section of the ARF has
decided to fight symptoms but not the desease and they, obviously,
want to be paid for for this "broad social consensus" with posts. I
am very disappointed by them.

I hope that the Karabakhi society will not allow the parties to seize
the state. This will not a only harm Karabakh, moreover, it will have
the consequence that the entire world will consider Karabakh to be
a shammed democracy. According to Wikipedia, oligarchy is "a form
of government where political power effectively rest with a small,
elite segment of society (wether distinguished by wealth, family
or military prowess)". Does this definition fit for Karabakh? Yes,
I fear. But even more important than this is the question wether
Karabakh drives in the right direction! I was very optimistic after
noticing Ghoukassian’s statement that he will not run for a third
term but now I am pretty worried.

The peak oil production in Azerbayjan will be in 2012-2014. This
time will be critical for Karabakh. One has to agree that preserving
the status quo since 1994 is inherently a great success. The task is
to preserve the status quo for ten more years, if you achieve this,
the world will recongnise your independence, I am sure. During the
next ten years you are "condemned" to make progress in the social
and economic field. Therefore Karabakh has to take not Belorussia but
Estonia as an example. I hope that you will fight for your right to
vote instead of nodding the predetermined candidate through!

ASHOT GHULYAN: IN THE TALKS WE HAVE NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF

KarabakhOpen
10-04-2007 10:30:09

The presidential election in NKR is on July 19. The president has
already stated for several times that he will not run a third term. The
likely presidential candidates are said to be Speaker Ashot Ghulyan,
the head of the National Security Service Bako Sahakyan, and the deputy
foreign minister Masis Mayilyan, the Yerevan-based Azg Daily wrote.

Ashot Ghulyan said in the interview with the Azg that the list
"does not include everyone who should be there." The speaker of the
parliament declined to say anything about his nomination.

In the interview Ashot Ghulyan also touched upon the resolution of
the Karabakh problem, underlining that at the moment there is nothing
to be proud of.

"If we clearly set the goal to reach the international recognition of
NKR and try to consolidate all our resources, and not only in Karabakh,
the goal will be quite realistic," said Ashot Ghulyan. The speaker
declined to say what the goal of the settlement had been earlier.

"The present format of the talks cannot give a sufficient evaluation
of the prospects of settlement. We need to define the stage we are
living through.

Although we remember there were times on this way when we were close
to the resolution. However, in this stage there is nothing we can be
proud of," he said.

As to the first step towards resolution, Ashot Ghulyan suggests
creating an atmosphere of confidence in the region. "We cannot
negotiate with eternal hostility on our minds," said Ashot
Ghulyan. "The participation of Karabakh in the talks will restore the
real format of the conflict. Moreover, this is what the international
documents require," the speaker said.

MARAGHA THE BLOODIEST EPISODE OF THE WAR IN KARABAKH

KarabakhOpen
10-04-2007 10:31:38

On April 9 the presentation of the disk "Maragha" produced by the
Milky Way Studio took place at Artsakh State University.

April 10 is the 15th anniversary of the tragedy in the village of
Maragha, Martakert. In the night of April 10, 1992 the Azerbaijani
special operational force and the Fourth Soviet Army stationed in
Kirovabad attacked the village, which had a population of 5 thousand
by that time. The 200 militants of the village could not stop the
tanks and the armored machines, and the Azerbaijanis captured the
village. In four hours Maragha was liberated by the joint defense
squads. However, the Armenian militants still remember the horrible
picture they saw. Dead bodies torn to parts, people burnt alive,
old people and children taken hostages… People were not just killed.

"It was perhaps the bloodiest episode of the war in Karabakh. What
happened in Maragha was the consequence of the policy conducted by
Azerbaijan for years on. The seeds of hatred grew at the convenient
moment – Sumgait, Maragha…

Unfortunately, the policy of inciting hatred continues, which does
not allow setting up friendly relations between our countries,"
said Speaker Ashot Ghulyan during the presentation.

"The massacres of the peaceful population in Maragha had nothing to do
with the military actions. These people did not threaten Azerbaijan,
the village was not a weapon emplacement. However, the criminals have
not assumed responsibility yet," said Vahram Atanesyan, the chair of
the Committee of External Relations.

Narine Aghabalyan, director of the Milky Way Studio, said the disc
contains documents, stories of witnesses, the participants and the
victims, photos, footages of the next day of the tragedy, as well as a
film based on the stories of witnesses. After the liberation Baroness
Caroline Cox arrived at the village. An interview with her and passages
from her book about ethnic cleansing were included in the disk as well.

Narine Aghabalyan told that the only effort to make the events
in Maragha known to the world was made by the Organization Against
Legal Arbitrariness (director Larissa Alaverdyan). A lot of materials
were accumulated, which were to be presented to the UN but the work
stopped halfway.

All the materials that the organization had collected were included in
the disk. Narine Aghabalyan said the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs
provided archive materials and legal documents. The disk also includes
newspaper stories.

The production was sponsored by the American businessman Vardges
Anivyan, the owner of the milk factory of Stepanakert.

"According to these materials, on that day 81 people were slaughtered,
67 were taken hostages. Some hostages were later returned or exchanged,
but many are still missing. 260 families, 880 people, remained in
Karabakh after those events. Now the village of Maragha is in the
neutral territory. In satellite photos we can see that the village
has been razed to the ground," Narine Aghabalyan says.

"In New Maragha 530 people live. We started living in this village
because there is nowhere else we can go to. And we have the right to
live there until we return to our native village," said the head of
the community of Nor Maragha Roma Karapetyan.

Most inhabitants of Maragha live in Russia. "We still have contact
with them, but they are reluctant to return," said the head of the
community.

"Azerbaijan was able to persuade the UN to send a mission to Karabakh
to " prove" that Armenians live in the liberated territories. Where
are the people of Maragha supposed to live? Where are those 7000
people who lived in Maragha, Margushavan? Isn’t the UN supposed to
think about them?" Narine Aghabalyan said.

ARMENIAN RULING PARTY PROMISES WIDE RANGE OF SOCIAL BENEFITS

Arminfo
9 Apr 07

Yerevan, 9 April: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] plans to bring the population of Armenia to 4m
by 2012.

According to the booklets distributed by the party at its rally on 9
April, this is possible by natural growth as well as with the help
of migration policies. The ARFD proposes to implement a number of
measures to encourage birth rates. The party proposes to provide
200,000 drams (about 550 dollars) to families for the birth of a
second child. The third child should be encouraged with 2m drams
(about 5,550 dollars), the fourth child with 2.5m drams (about 7,000
dollars). If a child born is the fifth one in the family, it should
get an apartment. The ARFD did not forget about the elderly either;
it proposes to set minimum pension at 30,000 drams (about 83 dollars)
with an average pension to stand at 50,000 drams (about 140 dollars).

The minimum wages should be set at the same amount.

Other topics of the ARFD are fair economic competition and fighting
shadow economy, fair taxes, creation of new jobs, provision of minimum
life standard, financial aid for disabled, implementation on a wide
basis of an institute of social partnership for protection of workers’
rights and salary growth.

WATER DELIVERED TO MARDAKERT

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2007 14:18

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund brought daily water to more than 600
inhabitants of the frontier Vaghuhas Village of the Martakert Region,
Public Relations Department of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund informs.

Today Vaghuhas has a 9-km pipeline, 4 water-receiving stations,
and a reservoir with a capacity to store 50m3 of water. The old
internal distribution network has been fully renovated. The project
was implemented with the allocations of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Argentina local committee and funds raised during the 2005-Telethon.

Vaghuhas and the neighboring villages were almost entirely deprived
of drinking water. The villagers received water a few hours a week
while some 95 families had no water at all. The Vaghuhas water supply
network was built in 1975 and had never been repaired. The pipelines
and internal distribution network had in time decayed and deteriorated.

Water supply issues are issues of great urgency for the NKR in
general. The Karabagh independence war greatly damaged the border
Region of Martakert and currently its infrastructures need serious
reconstruction.

In the framework of the Artsakh Revival project, launched in 2006, by
the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, 60 rural communities of the Martakert
Region are gradually coming back to life. With funds raised during the
2005 telethon, along with the Vaghuhas water supply, the All-Armenian
Fund brought natural gas to the village of Aradjadzor. Now the 850
inhabitants of the village enjoy the comfort of having natural gas
in their homes.

In 2006, another project started and is underway to improve the network
supplying water to Martaert, and the villages of Mets Shen, Maghavuz,
and Varnkatagh.

A new 30-km water-main will be connected to the pipelines of these
three villages ensuring drinking water for the population of Martakert
and the three neighboring villages, to a population of overall 5160
people. The project is carried out with means allocated by the Fund’s
French local committee and donations gathered during the 2005 Telethon.

In 2007, an important water supply renovation project started in
the Vank Village with a population of 1450. The villagers have
water only a few hours a week. The water spring runs out from the
nearest hills. The existing distribution network was built in 1958
and currently is in desperate conditions. In Vank Village, a 5-km
new pipeline will be constructed and the 7-km internal distribution
network will be restored with the donations made by the Fund’s local
committees of France and East Coast USA, as well as the St. Sarkis
Charitable Fund of Great Britain and the people of Armenia. Due to
the new reservoir, nearly 370 families will be provided with water.

Beginning from this year, the Artsakh Revival project has started at
full gear in the Hadrut region as well. You can be informed about the
works carried out for construction of gas and water supply networks, as
well as health care institutions and schools in our upcoming reports.

ARF CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF WITH LARGE RALLY

Yerkir
10.04.2007 13:03

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – "Dashnaktsutyun is launching its campaign
well-prepared to a victory, which will belong to the people and will
be acquired jointly," ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian told
thousands of participates of the April 9 rally in Yerevan’s Charles
Aznavour square.

Residents from Armenian regions arrived to Yerevan to cast their
support to the ARF.

"We will not curse anybody, we will not seed hatred, neither will we
threaten or pay election bribes. I am sure that our wise people will
ignore the lie and pressure, and will secure its victory by voting
for the ARF," Hrant Margarian said.

ARF Supreme Body of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian said that
the ARF stands before the people with its work and has nothing to be
shame of, and it is responsible for what it has not completed.

"More seats in the parliament will strengthen the might of the ARF
for many times to solve the problems the country faces. In the May 12
vote we will solve an issue of forming a government because only one
year later, the presidential election will be held, and the parliament
will be decisive for that election. Our gaol is to make citizens feel
secure in his country," Rustamian said.

"Welcome to a new period, which, I am sure, we will open in Armenia’s
history on May 12," ARF Bureau member and deputy parliament speaker
Vahan Hovhannisian said. "We are gathered here today to show that
we will trust Dashnaktsutyun as we trust our old friend," he said,
adding that Dashnaktsutyun considers everyone its friend regardless
what party they belong to.

"We are not a party created around one individual," Hrayr Karapetian,
the leader of the ARF faction in parliament said, adding that any
ARF member to be elected to parliament will be carrying out the
party’s program.

Armenian singers performed in concert during the rally. New songs
dedicated to the ARF were performed.

ARMENIAN STUDENTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmRadio.am
10.04.2007 15:45

The South Florida Armenian Students’ Association (ASA), in conjunction
with the Armenian National Committee of Florida, launched an active
campaign to educate college students about the Armenian Genocide
of 1915-1923, reported the Armenian National Committee of America,
Eastern Region (ANCA).

At a benefit concert dubbed, "Make Some Noise for Darfur" sponsored by
the Florida Atlantic University (FAU)-Amnesty International and MTV,
drawing a crowd of more than 300 students, the ASA was invited, along
Hillel and the National Organization of Women (NOW), to distribute
educational materials, field questions, and promote discussion about
the Turkish government’s ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Speaking at a crowd of human rights activists, 2004 ANCA Leo Sarkisian
Intern, Michael Toumayan asked, "If we cannot get the first genocide
of the 20th century recognized, how can we prevent present and future
genocides from occurring?"

"Seeing all different student organizations, representing a wide range
of cultures and causes, gives us hope for the future of humanity"
reflected Christina Benlian, corresponding secretary for the South
Florida ASA. Also commenting on ANC/ ASA’s advocacy for the Armenian
Cause, including the support for the benefit concert for Darfur,
FAU President Frank Brogan said, "this is a good a cause" as students
webfaxed their representatives to support the current Armenian Genocide
resolution in the US Congress, H. Res 106.

Although not many people were aware of the history of the massacres of
the Armenians, Roupen Joubi rebutted, "it should not discourage us,
but rather it motivates us to work even harder to educate our peers
one of the darkest chapters of history."