Month: April 2007

IOSIF KOBZON SAYS ZHIRINOVSKI’S REMARKS ON NAGORNO KARABAKH SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 27 2007

Russia’s peoples’ artist Iosif Kobzon visiting Azerbaijan held a press
conference in Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater,
APA reports.

The musician said he takes pride in celebration of his 70th anniversary
in Azerbaijan. Noting that he has been for 50 years on the stage
Kobzon said he will celebrate these two great events on the stage.

"My jubilee will be celebrated in a number of countries. I will go
on tour to Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries after Azerbaijan," he said.

Kobzon said he visited Martyrs’ Alley and felt sorry for them.

"The graves I saw in the Martyrs’ Alley distressed me. They were too
young. But all this remained the past," he said.

Kobzon said he will sing new and old songs in his jubilee and touched
upon political processes as well. Commenting on the statement by
Vladimir Zhirinovski, chief of Russia Liberal-Democrat Party which
said the Nagorno Karabakh belongs to Armenians, Kobzon said he does
not take this seriously.

"I do not take these thoughts seriously as Zhirinovski said it. If
somebody else said it I could comment on it. I do not consider it right
to comment on it. Zhirinovski’s political line is known to all Post
Soviet countries and he used to make such statements several times,"
he said.

Iosif Kobzon expressed his sorrow about famous musician Mstislav
Rostropovich’s death.

KOCHARIAN-ALIYEV MEETING IS LIKELY TO BE HELD ON JUNE 10 IN ST PETERSBURG

Noyan Tapan
Apr 27 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Meeting of Armenian President Robert
Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is likely to be
held on June 10 in Saint Petersburg. RA President reported this at
his April 27 meeting with professors and students of Yerevan State
University. He said that the Mammadiarov-Oskanian meeting held lately
in Brussels proceeded in rather calm atmosphere, which gave a ground
for some optimism. At the same time, RA President said that he is
not so optimistic.

3 CLASSROOMS OF YEREVAN SCHOOL N29 FURNISHED WITH SUPPORT OF AN ARMENIAN BENEFACTOR FROM ISTANBUL

Noyan Tapan
Apr 27 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, NOYAN TAPAN. New furniture amounting to 1 million
829 thousand drams (nearly 5 thousand USD) was purchased with the
financial support of an unknown Armenian benefactor from Istanbul
for furnishing 3 classrooms of Yerevan Movses Araz school N29. Noyan
Tapan was informed about this from the Public Relations Department
of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW TELEPHONE NETWORK STARTS IN GYUMRI

Noyan Tapan
Apr 27 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Construction of a new fixed-line phone
network for 20 thousand subscribers has started in Gyumri. According
to ArmenTel, all residents and organizations of the city will have
the opportunity to make use of modern services of the new phone
network. The subscriber phone network of Gyumri was badly damaged
by the 1988 earthquake and is now in unsatisfactory state. The
constrcution of Gyumri city phone network has been included in
ArmenTel’s development programs several times but later delayed for
various reasons.

It is envisaged to complete the first stage of the construction in late
2007, while the second stage – at the end of the third quarter of 2008.

Reconnection of subscriber phone lines will also be done in two
stages. The Alcatel station, which was put into operation in Gyumri
about a year ago, meets international standards and has a capacity
of 32,000 phone numbers.

GOVERNMENT APPROVES HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL SECURITY CONCEPT OF ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Apr 27 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, NOYAN TAPAN. At the April 26 sitting, the Armenian
government approved the RA hydro-meteorological security concept and
the program of measures on implementation of tasks proceeding from
the concept.

Director of the Armstatehydromet service Levon Vardanian told reporters
after the sitting that the concept is aimed at protection of the
Armenian population’s lives, health and property from dangerous and
unfavorable hydro-meteorological and heliogeophysical phenomena,
as well as sustainable social-economic development of the state and
environmental protection.

It was noted that droughts, frosts, hails, floods and strong winds
cause the greatest damage in Armenia, and their frequency and intensity
has increased in connection with general climatic changes.

L. Vardanian said that the World Bank is prepared to provide a 6
million dollar loan for re-equipment of Armenia’s hydro-meteorological
service.

ARMENIA: OPPOSITION PARTIES CRY FOUL OVER TELEVISION COVERAGE
Marianna Grigoryan

EurasiaNet, NY
April 27 2007

Armenian opposition parties are complaining that high prices for
television campaign ads and extensive coverage of pro-government
political parties are skewing Armenia’s parliamentary campaign.

International and local media monitoring reports appear to support
the contention that the government and parties in power are dominating
television election news coverage.

An April 8-15 survey of more than a dozen television stations
conducted by the Yerevan Press Club found that the governing Republican
Party of Armenia had the most television campaign ads and received
the most exposure from the "frequency of mentions" in television
programs. Second place was held by the pro-government Prosperous
Armenia Party and third place by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF), a member of the governing coalition.

ARF leaders have threatened to go into opposition if the May 12
parliamentary election is not deemed free-and-fair.

Much of the trouble comes down to television ads. The Central Election
Commission (CEC) has stipulated that parties must have access to two
minutes of free television airtime and four minutes of paid airtime
per day. But fees for television campaign ads are estimated to have
at least tripled since the 2003 parliamentary voting. The opposition
says it does not have the resources to cover the costs

The Impeachment bloc, a group pushing for the impeachment of President
Robert Kocharian on the alleged grounds that his 2003 election was
rigged, has only purchased three minutes of political advertising on
television, stated bloc member Nikol Pashinian, editor-in-chief of the
daily Haykakan Zhamanak. "Under the law, anyone has the right to be
nominated as a candidate, to say and express what he wants. However,
to pay 80,000 drams (about $223) for one minute [of advertising]
is affordable only for those who have been thieving for years,"
Pashinian claimed.

A member of the political council of the hardline opposition
Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party agrees. "Everyone is saving their
money to go on the air during the last few days [of the campaign],
which greatly damages the party’s campaign," said Suren Sureniants.

(The official campaign ends on May 10). As a result, he added,
the Republic Party is "trying to find other options" to get its
message out.

Veteran opposition parliamentarian Arshak Sadoyan, leader of the
National Democratic Alliance Party, suggests that the best option is
to go from house to house to try and meet with people in person.

"When I go to the regions, people are surprised and ask me whether I
am really participating in the elections," said Sadoyan, who is well
known for his fiery anti-government speeches. "Clearly, they won’t
know [me] because I don’t have the resources to pay for a campaign
ad and to appear on the TV screen, and the most powerful means of
propaganda is television."

Representatives of Armenia TV, the country’s largest private TV
station, and Kentron TV, owned by Prosperous Armenia Party leader
Gagik Tsarukian, declined to comment to EurasiaNet about their campaign
ad sales.

The timing of campaign ads also plays a role, opposition members say.

Sureniants, the Republic Party official, deemed it "illogical" that
public television has scheduled a straight hour of campaign ads at
5:15pm, given that the station’s prime time falls between 7pm and
11pm. Representatives of parties allied with the government often
appear on the station during prime-time talk shows, doubling the
impact of the parties’ publicity campaigns, Sureniants charged.

"Everything is done deliberately," commented Sureniants, terming the
practice "a news blockade" backed by the government.

In response to the accusations, Public Television Deputy Executive
Director Gnel Nalbandian told EurasiaNet that the number of parties
taking part in the campaign renders providing equal airtime for all
parties a challenge. "Of course, the broadcasts of public television
cannot equally cover the events of all parties," Nalbandian said.

"Even technically, we are unable to cover the events of the 25
political parties participating in the elections and we have found
ourselves between a rock and a hard place."

Public television is preparing a response to coverage concerns raised
in a March 29-April 17 interim election report by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office of Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). The report showed that
public television devoted 43 percent of its political prime-time news
coverage to the government, with coverage in "an exclusively neutral
and positive tone." The Republican Party of Armenia received the most
airtime of parties running for parliament, with 16 percent of total
news coverage, according to the report. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation received 4 percent of airtime, and the opposition Orinats
Yerkir (Country of Law) Party received 5 percent.

Meanwhile, studies conducted by the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan
show that 75 percent of public television coverage is devoted to the
three parties of Armenia’s governing coalition (Republican Party
of Armenia, Armenia Revolutionary Federation, United Labor Party)
and only 25 percent to parties that are not members of the coalition.

The OSCE/ODIHR plans to publish a third report on the election
campaign with fresh media monitoring details the week of April 30,
said OSCE/ODIHR media analyst Ivan Godarsky. The media monitoring
results will also be included in the organization’s final report,
to be released "six to eight weeks" after the election, he added.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the independent
online weekly ArmeniaNow in Yerevan.

ARMENIAN EX-SPEAKER ACCUSED OF ‘TREASON’
By Karine Kalantarian and Ruzanna Khachatrian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 27 2007

Statements reportedly made by Armenia’s former parliament speaker
Artur Baghdasarian in his secretly recorded conversation with a senior
British diplomat constitute high treason, President Robert Kocharian
claimed on Friday.

It was Kocharian’s first public reaction to the publication by a
pro-presidential newspaper of purported details of Baghdasarian’s
recent private meeting with the number two official in the British
embassy in Yerevan. The leader of the opposition Orinats Yerkir Party
was quoted as urging the European Union to criticize the Armenian
authorities’ handling of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"It’s hard to imagine that the former chairman of the National
Assembly could fall so low," Kocharian told students at Yerevan State
University. "I don’t want to use legal terms. For me, this is a real
manifestation of treason. That manifestation is all the more ugly
given that it was done at his own initiative."

Kocharian made it clear, however, that Baghdasarian will not be
prosecuted under a relevant article of the Armenian Criminal Code.

"We have received hundreds of phone calls in connection with that fact,
various kinds of comments as to how such a politician can take part
in the elections," he said. "But I don’t think it would be right for
state bodies to come up with some tough actions.

"The elections are coming up, and let every voter decide whether
patriotism and dignity matters to them. If it doesn’t, let them vote
[for Baghdasarian’s party.]"

Baghdasarian supported Kocharian and was considered one of his
potential favored successors until Orinats Yerkir was forced to quit
Armenia’s governing coalition one year ago. The populist party is now
one of the main opposition contenders of the elections scheduled for
May 12.

The British embassy on Thursday acknowledged that one of its top
diplomats met Baghdasarian at a Yerevan restaurant last February but
condemned the "dishonest" recording of their conversation revealed by
the newspaper "Golos Armenii." The paper, which is staunchly supportive
of Kocharian, published what it described as excerpts from that
conversation on Saturday and Thursday. The ex-speaker was quoted as
saying that the EU should issue "some signal of alarm" before May 12.

Baghdasarian was quick to hit back at Kocharian’s extraordinary
accusation. "I consider it condemnable and unacceptable," he told
reporters during a campaign trip to the southern town of Echmiadzin.

"The traitors are all those who rig elections and disgrace the
fatherland."

Speaking to RFE/RL earlier on Friday, Baghdasarian repeated his strong
condemnation of the "Golos Armenii" reports. "This is a violation of
not only the constitution and laws but moral norms," he said. "Even
worse is the fact that the content of the conversation was distorted
and dirty comments were made about it."

"I have said and am repeating now that Armenia’s upcoming elections
must meet international standards and that the international community,
to which Armenia has assumed obligations, must closely follow the
upcoming electoral processes," he added.

Kocharian, meanwhile, was anxious to dispel widespread suspicions that
the secret recording, which is illegal under Armenian law, was the work
of the National Security Service (NSS). "After reading the first report
I immediately instructed the National Security Service to contact the
newspaper and examine all circumstances of that recording," he told
university students. "Sadly, what was reported … fully corresponds
to reality."

Kocharian stressed the fact that another opposition leader, Aram
Karapetian, has said that he got hold of a copy of the scandalous
recording before it was published by "Golos Armenii." Karapetian was
summoned to the NSS on Thursday to provide further explanations. He
claimed after the interrogation that the former KGB itself recorded
the conversation and deliberately planted a compact disc containing
the audio on his office doorstep to deflect suspicions about its
involvement in the affair.

The pro-opposition daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" published on Thursday
other details of Baghdasarian’s meeting with the British diplomat
identified as Richard Hyde, the deputy chief of mission, which were not
reported by "Golos Armenii." In particular, Baghdasarian was quoted
as detailing vote irregularities allegedly planned and committed by
the governing Republican Party of Armenia.

According to "Haykakan Zhamanak," the Orinats Yerkir leader said the
elections can already be considered to have been falsified. "We know
that," Hyde was said to have replied.

YEREVAN ADMITS UNEASE OVER OSCE ELECTION MISSION
By Astghik Bedevian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 27 2007

Armenia’s government questioned the impartiality of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe before formally asking it to
monitor the approaching parliamentary elections, it emerged on Friday.

The administration of President Robert Kocharian had taken issue with
the OSCE’s highly critical assessment of its handling of the last
presidential and parliamentary elections held in 2003. The findings of
the mainly Western observers acting under the OSCE aegis gave weight
to opposition allegations of massive vote rigging.

Kocharian exposed his government’s discontent with their activities
on Friday when he said official Yerevan has sought assurances that
the OSCE mission deployed for the May 12 parliamentary elections will
not be a "tool" in the hands of unspecified external powers.

"We always intended to invite observers," he said. "We just wanted
to negotiate and make sure the observer mission is free of various
political pressures and does not cater for various political
interests."

"This is our goal, and I think we have had held quite effective
negotiations and reached agreements with the OSCE leadership,"
added Kocharian.

Reports in the Armenian press late last year said official Yerevan is
trying to make sure that the OSCE mission is not headed by U.S. or
British officials and includes more representatives of France and
Russia, countries that have been less critical of the Kocharian
administration’s democracy record. The head of the mission, Boris
Frlec, comes from the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia.

Frlec told RFE/RL that he has discussed Yerevan’s concerns with
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian. "Mr. Oskanian expressed the wish
of the Armenian side that the election observation mission should be,
as far the national composition is concerned, as broad as possible,"
he said.

"In the [mission’s] core team, including long-term observers, 24
different nations are represented among 40 people," argued Frlec. "In
addition to that, countries of the OSCE responded to the call of the
[OSCE’s] Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and sent
300 short-term observers that cover an extremely wide spectrum of
different nationalities."

NORDIC FIRM TO BUY ARMENIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 27 2007

Stock exchange operator OMX AB, the largest bourse in the Nordic
region, said Friday it has agreed to buy the Armenian bourse and the
Central Depositary of Armenia.

It did not disclose the financial terms of the letter of intent it
signed with Armenia’s government and central bank.

OMX – the result of seven merged Nordic stock exchanges in the past
three years – said that even though the Armenian market is quite small,
it sees good opportunities for growth in the next few years.

This will come from the country’s pension reform, changes to the
legal framework and more focus on the equity market, it said.

Chief Executive Magnus Bocker said the acquisition "is an opportunity
to leverage our experience from developing emerging markets in other
countries" and the "ambition is to use the Armenian case as a benchmark
to enter other emerging capital markets."

The acquisition will require approvals from relevant authorities.

The global stock exchange industry is in the midst of consolidation –
with U.S. bourses showing particular interest in Europe, including
the New York Stock Exchange’s acquisition of Euronext and Nasdaq’s
failed bid to take control of the London Stock Exchange. Like many
other bourses, OMX has been the subject of market speculation about
what role it may play.

When OMX reported its first-quarter results this week -posting a
14.3 percent rise in sales – it declined to specify its intentions
but said it is keeping an eye on consolidation within the industry
and will keep on evaluating its strategic opportunities.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KOCHARIAN WARNS OPPOSITION AGAINST POST-ELECTION PROTESTS
By Emil Danielyan and Karine Kalantarian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 27 2007

President Robert Kocharian warned the Armenian opposition on Friday
against challenging the official results of next month’s parliamentary
elections in the streets, saying that fresh attempts to unseat him
would meet with a tough government response.

Meeting with university students and professors in Yerevan, Kocharian
said the Armenian authorities will do "everything in their power" to
ensure the freedom and fairness of the May 12 vote. But he stressed
that the country’s leading political parties, which appoint most
members of various-level election commissions, are equally responsible
for its proper conduct.

Kocharian claimed that opposition parties are preparing ground for
allegations of massive vote rigging by making what he described as
highly unrealistic assessments of their popularity. "So it is very
likely that after May 12 we will see a number of news conferences,
and the dissatisfied section of election contenders will definitely
state that the elections were rigged," he said.

"The danger is that after such declarations a question will arise:
If somebody stole your votes, why aren’t you reclaiming your votes and
what are the ways of reclaiming your votes? Perhaps one of those ways
is to once again try to undermine the country’s political stability.

They may test it, but there would definitely be an adequate response.

Nobody should doubt that."

Some of the opposition contenders, notably the radical Hanrapetutyun
(Republic) party, make no secret of their plans to use the vote for
launching another campaign of street protests aimed at overthrowing the
Kocharian administration. Other, more moderate opposition parties have
not ruled out the possibility of joining anti-government demonstrations
in the event of large-scale electoral abuse.

Kocharian already cracked down on the opposition when it last tried
unsuccessfully to topple him three years ago. He said on Friday
that new opposition attempts to replicate anti-government "color
revolutions" that have took place in some former Soviet republics are
doomed to fail also because they are opposed by the vast majority of
the people. He said Armenians do not want the kind of political turmoil
that has gripped two of those republics, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

"It is clear to everyone that the illegitimate way of coming to power
costs countries and peoples very dearly," said Kocharian.

The Armenian leader stated at the same time that most of his political
opponents have "abandoned radical extremist agendas" and that the
election campaign has been "quite tranquil and civilized" so far. He
insisted that they are able to hold campaign meetings across the
country without any government obstacles, rejecting claims to the
contrary made by opposition leaders.

Kocharian also indicated that Armenia’s main pro-presidential parties
are well placed to win a majority in the next National Assembly because
of recent years’ robust economic growth and improvement in living
standards which he attributed to policies pursued by his government. He
specifically mentioned the governing Republican Party (HHK) and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation as well as the Prosperous Armenia
Party (BHK) of businessman Gagik Tsarukian. The BHK is widely regarded
as the brainchild and new main support base of Kocharian.

The HHK and the BHK are already facing opposition allegations of foul
play. The legitimacy of the HHK’s victory in the last parliamentary
elections was seriously questioned by international observers, the
opposition and even Dashnaktsutyun.

"The authorities will do everything in their power to have good
results in the [conduct of the] elections," said Kocharian. "But it
must also be clear that responsibility for the elections is born not
only by the authorities but also political forces. Especially those
political forces that form [election] commissions."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress