Month: May 2008

COALITION MEMBERS SHOULDN’T STEP ASIDE
Gevorg Harutyunyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 14, 2008
Armenia

Interview with RPA deputy leader, MP Razmik Zohrabyan.

"Responding to Ter-Petrosyan’s accusations in his address, in his
interview given to "MEDIAMAX" agency Robert Kocharyan called them
"bizarre statements" and hoped that the Committee to be established
by the demand of the Council of Europe as well, will reveal the
whole truth.

Don’t you think that, had this truth been already revealed the main
organizer of the coup wouldn’t dare to be carried off too far?"

"Before touching upon the question I would like to express my own
opinion regarding Robert Kocharyan’s activity and his personality. This
is the right time to do so, because his term of office is over.

Robert Kocharyan is a real Armenian and a good citizen. During the
ten years of his presidency he pursued a very efficient and right
policy. Especially during the last days of his term of office, when the
pre-election and post-election developments created social tension,
Robert Kocharyan confirmed, that he is a state-oriented political
figure and a champion of the maintenance of Armenian civilization.

In response to your question I would like firstly to confirm that Levon
Ter-Petrosyan is the main author of the tension during the pre-election
campaign, and the collision with the law enforcers, on March 1,
after the summary of the election returns. Today he still continues
his ruining and provocative actions. He even used the anniversary of
the Genocide of Armenians for his own political purposes, whereas,
those who had "little role" in instigating it, are under detention.

No matter how much Levon Ter-Petrosyan will try to justify himself,
beyond a shadow of a doubt he is the only blameworthy for what
happened. He is the one who initiated and organized the movement to
dismantle the state. He misled many honest and naïve people, but
he doesn’t even want to shoulder the responsibility of what happened
with these people."

"In your opinion can we consider the version of the "house arrests"
as a justification of a coward to evade responsibility?"

"The acting law and my own information, testify to the fact that
Levon Ter-Petrosyan has not been under "home arrest" and he had all
the chances to go to the street and lead the people gathered in front
of the Municipality. He was well aware that lots of people were armed
there, and that the scuffle and collision was unavoidable. He thought
only about his personal security, that’s why he didn’t appear there.

In this regard it is senseless to accuse Robert Kocharyan. If Levon
Ter-Petrosyan really had certain ideas and principles, if he was guided
by the interests of the people and the country, nothing could prevent
him from being with the people. But he didn’t, because he was feeling
that his security was in danger."

"How would you explain the fact that only the President, the ruling
power and the Republican Party and not the coalition parties are the
target of the movement headed by LTP and the latter himself?"

"In my opinion it is a strategic step. They have chosen one
political figure and one political power not to become a target for
others. Meanwhile, in terms of political activity, of course we have
formed a coalition with "Bargavach Hayastan", "Orinats Yerkir", and
ARFD, taking into account the political stances of these parties. But
in the created situation in my view our coalition partners shouldn’t
step aside and they must publish their political estimations.

I don’t think the accusations made in the address of the Republican
Party and the government, are not related to our coalition partners
as well.

In the coalition agreement all the parties committed themselves to
certain obligations. If they don’t respond to their criticism they
can create an impression that they want to avoid this criticism by
their passive posture.

According to the latest announcements the process of the combination of
powers have started in the pro-oppositional domain. The combination of
powers is very important in the government camp, not only to confront
the political pressure of the opposition, but also to implement
our program.

In my view their purpose to establish a congress or a new party is a
psychological nuance. Thus they intend to get rid of the image of the
Armenian Pan National Movement. But we shouldn’t overlook one fact,
until this congress or the new party is headed by Levon Ter-Petrosyan;
this means Armenian Pan National Movement is in the center of this
power. They will never manage to cheat our people."

–Boundary_(ID_3Eiushxn7HZcYecn+kvI ng)–

NEW LAYWER TO BE INVOLVED IN THE CASE

A1+
[03:55 pm] 14 May, 2008

On May 14 relatives of Hovhannes Harutiunian, Head of the Arabkir
structure of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union (EKM) and Commander of
"Arabkir" battalion, appeared in the RoA Appellate Court with posters,
"My husband is a political prisoner," "We demand a fair trial."

Hovhannes Harutiunian is sued under Article 235 of the RoA Penal
Code. He is charged with "obtaining and keeping 30 cartridges in his
apartment as ammunition."

On March 28 the general jurisdiction court of Arabkir and
Kanaker-Zeitun communes brought in a verdict of guilty and sentenced
Hovhannes Harutiunian to a 1,5-year imprisonment.

Today when Hovhannes Harutiunian was taken into the courtroom the
presentees began applauding and shouting. "Freedom, freedom!" People
kept shouting even after the arrival of Justice Margarita Simonian.

Hovhannes Harutiunian was in handcuffs. "Look at my brother! He is
chained. Do they fear he may flee?" the commander’s sister said.

The trial was adjourned. Lawyer Vardan Zurnachian didn’t attend
the court sitting for some unknown reasons. Besides, upon Hovhannes
Harutiunian’s request, one more lawyer Hovik Arsenian was involved
into the case hearing.

The court urged Hovik Arsenian to get familiarized with the case
material before the next sitting due on May 22.

Reminder: on May 13 the Appellate Court adjourned the trial of
Husik Baghdasarian, commander of a Masis battalion, on the same
grounds. Husik Baghdasarian also demands a second lawyer. Lawyer
Vardan Zurnachian has defended the interests of Hovhannes Harutiunian
and Husik Baghdasarian up to nowadays.

WE HAVE NOTHING TO DISCUSS

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 14, 2008
Armenia

"Nothing has changed in the struggle they started from September. They
don’t have any intentions to review their position. They don’t need
any dialogue, because their pre-conditions are not realistic.

Even the Council of Europe clearly mentioned in the resolution
that only those detainees that haven’t committed crimes must be
released. But they demand to release all the detainees. Their morality
is definitely deteriorated, because it was Levon Ter-Petrosyan who
left his supporters in the critical moment and now he wants to get
absolution. In such circumstances we have nothing to discuss with Levon
Ter-Petrosyan and Armenian Pan National Movement. What we really need
is to have a dialogue with the people, and we have already started
this process," Razmik Zohrabyan says.

THERE ARE NO POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ARMENIA

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 14, 2008
Armenia

According to Aram Safaryan: "There are no political prisoners in
Armenia. Some people can call the detentions "on political grounds".

Yes the Council of Europe really demands to release certain detainees
and in my view very soon corresponding decisions will be made regarding
this issue.

But we must try to differentiate two things: those who committed crimes
on March 1-2 must be punished and they can use certain mechanisms of
amnesty towards the others."

AZERBAIJAN JOINS THE MIDDLE EAST
By John C. K. Daly

Eurasia Daily Monitor
le_id=2373054
May 13 2008
DC

Azerbaijan’s massive hydrocarbon resources have begun to attract
the attention of an increasing number of energy-poor nations in
the Middle East, including Israel and Jordan. While the logistical
problems involved in such deliveries would be daunting, as no direct
pipelines currently exist, the diplomatic intricacies involved in
such shipments would be even more formidable. Nevertheless, the
diplomatic implications of such interest are both interesting and
potentially significant.

Israel has recently attempted to increase its number of natural gas
suppliers, according to National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin
Ben Eliezer. On May 4 Ben Eliezer told a conference in Tel Aviv that
his Ministry had discussed possible future supplies of natural gas
to Israel with the energy companies BP and Gazprom as well as with
Caspian producers Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Last week
in Azerbaijan, National Infrastructure Ministry Director-General
Hezi Kugler held talks with Azeri officials about possible future
gas supplies, but no details of the negotiations have been released
(Trend news agency, May 6).

Azerbaijan produces gas from its Caspian offshore Shah Deniz field,
the country’s largest natural gas field, which is operated by BP. The
330 square-mile Shah Deniz gas and condensate field was discovered
in 1999 and began production in December 2006. The field lies under
2,000 feet of water, 44 miles southeast of Bakubat.

BP owns 25.5 percent of the joint venture. The other Shah Deniz
consortium partners are Statoil Azerbaijan (25.5 percent), State Oil
Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) (10 percent), France’s Elf
Petroleum Azerbaijan (10 percent), Russia’s LukAgip N.V. (10 percent),
Iran’s Oil Industries Engineering & Construction (OIEC) (10 percent),
and Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO) (9 percent).

Shah Deniz holds an estimated 1.5 to 3 billion barrels of oil, and 50
to 100 billion cubic meters of gas. The United States is optimistic
about Azerbaijan’s natural gas future. The US Energy Information Agency
wrote, "With the addition of the Shah Deniz natural gas and condensate
field and the South Caucasus Pipeline, Azerbaijan will become a large
natural gas provider to Turkey and to Europe in the upcoming decade"
().

The 430-mile-long South Caucasus Pipeline, also known as the
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) Pipeline, became operational at the same
time as the Shah Deniz field and transmits Azeri gas through Georgia
to Erzurum in eastern Turkey. Shah Deniz oil is sent through the
1,092-mile-long, $3.6 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline,
which terminates at Turkey’s eastern Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The
BTC shares the same corridor as the BTE. In 2007 the BTC pipeline
exported roughly 650,000 barrels per day of crude and condensate.

The devil is in the details, in this case geography. While Israel
might be interested in possible imports of Azeri natural gas, the fact
remains that there are only two ways of transporting it, pipelines
and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers. LNG ports and tankers are
extremely expensive, while any pipeline extending from Erzurum to
Israel would either have to extend from southeastern Turkey under
the Mediterranean parallel to the Lebanese coast or traverse Syria,
with which Israel has yet to sign a peace treaty.

There are, however, interesting signs that a deal may yet be in the
works. According to recent newspaper reports, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert already has informed Syrian President Bashar al Assad
that Israel is prepared to cede the Golan Heights to Syria in return
for a comprehensive peace agreement (Ha’aretz, May 6).

Such considerations may be the diplomatic subtext of the state
visit to Azerbaijan by Jordan’s King Abdullah, ostensibly in Baku to
attend the opening of Azerbaijan’s Second Jordanian exhibition and
the Azerbaijan-Jordan Business Forum. While in Baku, Abdullah held
extensive discussions with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and signed
a number of bilateral documents (AzerTag, May 5).

In an interview with Azerbaijan’s State Telegraph Agency, Abdullah put
the Arab-Israeli conflict in a broader regional context, observing,
"It is common knowledge that the Palestinian problem is the core issue
in the Middle East conflict, and it is our conviction that solving
the interrelated issues in our region depends on our ability to find
a just and permanent solution to the conflict in Palestine" (AzerTag,
May 2). In comments that will undoubtedly resonate in Baku, Abdullah
offered his services in resolving Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute with Armenia.

As Washington is prodding both Israel and the Palestinian Authority
toward resolving their disputes over the Middle East’s "core issue,"
Abdullah’s comments about "interrelated issues" would seem to indicate
a possible "twin track" approach to solving the region’s other
unresolved disputes. Syria, bracketed between Israel’s ally Turkey
to the north and Israel itself, the Middle East’s leading military
power, to the south, may now be ready to trade peace for territory,
especially if the deal were sweetened with increased access to both
natural gas and transit fees.

In such a situation, Turkey would win by further positioning itself
as a regional transit hub, and Azerbaijan would gain valuable
additional diplomatic support from Jordan for resolving its dispute
with Armenia. If Azerbaijan developed energy ties with Israel, this too
could have a diplomatic payoff over Nagorno-Karabakh, particularly if
Israel used its good offices with Armenia, its fifth-largest trading
partner. Finally, Syria and Israel would gain access to Caspian energy
from a reliable Western ally. For Israel, there could be no greater
60th birthday present than a peace treaty fired by natural gas from
Azerbaijan’s Caspian "King of the Sea" gas field.

PICKETERS DEMAND TO SANCTION THE RALLY

A1+
[08:02 pm] 14 May, 2008

Today scores of Armenian citizens staged a picket in front of the
City Hall of Yerevan in protest against the City Hall’s disregard
for their notifications of rallies. They demanded a meeting with
Mayor Erwand Zakharian. But the policemen banned their access to the
building chaining the entrance.

The picketers began chanting, "We call for justice," "Freedom,"
"Free and Independent Armenia."

"The City Hall didn’t accept our notification of holding a rally
at Liberty Square on May 23-24. It is already the 28th time the
City Hall has refused our notifications on groundless motivations,"
says HHSh member Norik Norikian. "Here are our demands: firstly, to
secure our representative’s presence in the sitting where the issue
of rallies is put under consideration.

Secondly, we demand the authorities to carry out the PACE
recommendations. And thirdly, the Armenian leadership should accept
our notification of the May 23-24 rally.

The Mayor didn’t receive the protesters today though they waited for
him for two hours. picketers were told that the authorized employee
was out and couldn’t receive them.

It is a great tragedy that a Mayor cannot receive a citizen. We shall
be consistent. We shall hold a rally at Liberty Square if they don’t
change their attitude towards us," said the picketers.

STATEHOOD AND POWER

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 14, 2008
Armenia

Quite Different Things

"The crises and the concussions that our society has faced for
many years have brought to the mentality of merging statehood with
power. People usually can’t differentiate statehood from power. And
very often those who struggle against the ruling power, thus destroy
the state.

If these people feel this difference they themselves will bring the
ruling power into their senses. Otherwise we will spoil everything. If
we don’t have a state we will lose everything that we have,"
psychologist Karine Nalchajyan says.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CEASE HUNGER-STRIKE

A1+
[08:49 pm] 14 May, 2008

Today azatamartik Ashot Zakarian has released an open letter to his
brothers-in-arms from the "Vardashen" Penitentiary Institution. The
letter runs in part,

Dear compatriots-in-arms,

We have won many victories and overcome many obstacles since
1988. We have been guided by patriotism and a wish to live in a free,
independent and democratic country.

Unfortunately, following the events of October 27, 1999, the
authorities seized power and led the country to a collapse. Violations
of human rights, restriction of freedom of expression and mass media,
rigged elections have become common in Armenia. The country has
appeared in ooze. Nevertheless, people’s determination to restore
their rights and dignity has led them to Liberty Square. The Poplular
Movement headed by first President Levon Ter-Petrossian instilled
hope and belief for the future.

Over 100 activists are under arrest following the events of March
1. They are punished for their political dissent.

The trials held in different instances resemble "shows." I strongly
believe that the popular movement will achieve its peak one day. We
shall have the free Armenia we have longed for.

The path we have taken is a difficult and responsible one. And I
emphasize the will-power and physical abilities of each of us. The
way of the struggle you have chosen, hunger-strike, will not receive
adequate feedback by the authorities.

Dear companions-in-arms,

I want to thank you for your determination to struggle to the end. I
urge you to stop the hunger-strike as quickly as possible and to
choose other means of struggle. Take the call as a request.

Best regards,

Ashot R. Zakarian

"Vardashen" Penitentiary Institution

REFORMS EXPECTED IN TAX AND CUSTOMS SERVICES

Panorama.am
18:09 14/05/2008

Serious changes will be carried out in the tax and customs service
activities, said Arsen Ghazaryan the head of industrial and business
representatives union of Armenia, in a conference today. According
to him measures are taken to carry out those reforms in the current
month. The union held some meeting discussions with the committee
about the recommendations and now works on them.

According to Ghazaryan it is a month that no corruption case has
been registered.

He said that the change of the IT in the customs field is a must. He
said that now they are discussing questions of presenting the reports
via on line and in a week or two it will be used in practice. He
said that in these days the businessmen will have a meeting with the
president where certain political demands will be discussed.

AN INDEX OF CONSUMER PRICES IN JANUARY-APRIL, 2008

Azat Artsakh Daily
Published on May 13, 2008
NKR Republic

In April,2008 an index of consumer prices in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
in comparison with December,2007, has compiled 103.6 per cent, among
them food goods(including alcoholic drinks and tobacco) – 105.2
per cent, non food goods – 102.0 per cent, tariffs of services –
101.4 per cent. In above-mentioned period an increase of food goods
has been fixed in the following goods groups: bread products – 111.1
per cent, meat products – 108.1 per cent, fruits – 105.6 per cent,
non alcoholic dtinks – 105.3 per cent, vegetable and potato – 104.7
per cent, vegetable and organic oil – 103.8 per cent. According to
observing cities, an index of consumer prices in April,2008, in
comparison with December,2007, has compiled in Stepanakert – 102.6
per cent, in Askeran – 103.6 per cent, in Hadrut – 103.6 per cent, in
Martakert – 104.5 per cent, in Martuni – 105.8 per cent, in Shushi –
107.0 per cent and in Berdzor – 104.3 per cent. In January-April,2008,
in comparison with January-April,2007, an index of consumer prices has
compiled 109.7 per cent, among them food goods(including alcoholic
drinks and tobacco) – 115.7 per cent, non food goods – 101.6 per
cent, tariffs of services – 103.0 per cent. In April,2008 an index
of consumer prices, in comparison with April,2007, has compiled 111.2
per cent, in comparison with 2006 – 114.4 per cent.