Month: June 2009

MUSA DAGH PHOTO COLLECTION TO BE PART OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MUSEUM OF AMERICA

AZG Armenian Daily
02/06/2009

Armenian Genocide

Rare and historically significant photographs of the Armenians of Musa
Dagh will be among the Genocide-era images featured in the Armenian
Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), thanks to the generosity of a
private collector who is providing the museum with exclusive access
to the photos.

Very few families survived the Armenian Genocide without loss of
life. Pictured is the family of Krikor Boursalian of Yoghunoluk
village, Musa Dagh. The picture was taken at the Port Said refugee
camp in Egypt sometime between October 1915 and summer 1916.

This unique collection of black-and-white photographs, dating from
1915 to 1939, is the life’s work of Dr. Vahram Shemmassian, a Los
Angeles-based historian who is the world’s leading expert on the
Armenians of Musa Dagh.

"We are profoundly grateful to Dr. Shemmassian for allowing the museum
to use his priceless photo collection to help tell the heroic story of
the Musa Dagh Armenians against the backdrop of the larger and much
more tragic story of the Armenian Genocide," said Van Z. Krikorian,
AGMA Board Trustee and Building and Operations Committee Chairman. "In
addition, as the foremost authority on the subject of Musa Dagh,
Dr. Shemmassian is able to provide authentication of the evidence
documented in these photographs."

Krikorian said the Musa Dagh photo collection is the fourth significant
collection of Genocide-era visual materials which, in the past year,
have been made available for use by AGMA. AGMA has been granted access
to the archives of the Near East Foundation and the Armenian Genocide
Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, and has received a donation of a
privately-held research library containing books, maps, photographs and
other materials focused on the Armenian Genocide and its documentation.

Dr. Shemmassian has also undertaken pioneering research on the fate
of Armenian women and children during and in the aftermath of the
Genocide, another focus area of the museum. Shemmassian, who is
currently Director of the Armenian Studies Program at California
State University, Northridge, said the Armenian Genocide Museum in
Washington, DC is a "perfect match" for his collection.

"The thousands of people who will visit the museum will be able to look
into the faces of those brave Armenians of Musa Dagh and learn of their
unique story," Dr. Shemmassian said. "They resisted and most of them
survived, but they were forced to leave their homes. These photographs
document the trying conditions and difficult challenges that the
displaced Musa Dagh Armenians faced as survivors and refugees."

According to Dr. Rouben Adalian, Director of the museum’s research
arm, the Armenian National Institute, "The story of Musa Dagh is one
of the rare instances during the Armenian Genocide era where Armenian
villagers, who were targeted for annihilation by the Ottoman Turkish
Army, put up an organized resistance for 49 days and were eventually
rescued by Allied warships patrolling the Turkish coast."

Adalian said, "There are no known photographs of the actual defense
of Musa Dagh, however, the rescue and delivery to safety in Egypt of
over 4,000 survivors made headline news." The Austrian author Franz
Werfel also immortalized the gripping events in his "Forty Days of
Musa Dagh," which became a best-seller upon its release in 1933 and
was subsequently translated into numerous languages.

The AGMA recently received a copy of the Dutch edition of "Forty Days
of Musa Dagh" from a Canadian donor whose family had lived through
World War II. Adalian added, "The book is important supplemental
material to the Musa Dagh photo collection, and points to the
world-wide impact of the story of the resistance of the Armenians of
Musa Dagh."

"Franz Werfel’s book was widely read in Europe and made the Jewish
author unpopular with the Nazi regime, prompting Werfel to flee
Austria in 1938," Adalian said. He noted that according to Professor
Yair Auron of the Open University of Israel, Werfel’s novel was a
source of inspiration and reflection for Jews who were trapped by the
Nazi occupation of Europe. In one historical account, a Holocaust
survivor from the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania stated: "Our analysis
of the book indicated that if the world did not come to the rescue
of the Armenians, who were Christians after all, how could we, Jews,
expect help? No doubt Hitler knew all about those massacres and the
criminal neglect by the free world, and was convinced that he could
proceed with impunity against the helpless Jews."

ANCA ENDOWMENT FUND TELETHON RAISES MORE THAN $2.5 MILLION

dowment-fund-telethon-raises-more-than-25-million/
Jun 1, 2009

LITTLE ARMENIA-In what became a strong show of grassroots participation
and reinforced the power of national community participation, $2.6
million was raised during Sunday’s six-hour nationally televised ANCA
Endowment Fund Telethon.

Bolstered by a matching donation of $150,000 by Kirk Kerkorian’s
Lincy Foundation, the telethon attracted a broad cross-section of
the community and the final results proved the commitment of the
Armenian-American community to the advancement the Armenian Cause.

With donations ranging from $5 to $150,000, thousands of
Armenian-Americans took part in the fund-raising effort, with hundreds
more volunteering their time, services and other resources to ensure
the telethon was a success.

The program, aired nationally on Horizon Armenian Television and
the Armenian Russian Television Network (ARTN) and local outlets
throughout the country, featured segments highlighting the ANCA
Endowment Fund’s achievements and activities in Genocide education,
youth empowerment, advocacy training, the advancement of an enduring
relationship between the United States and Armenia and the promotion
of public awareness of the circumstances surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The telethon, which was filmed live in the Horizon studios,
also featured appearances by Western Prelate Archbishop Moushegh
Mardirossian, leader of the Armenian Catholic Community Father Antoine
Saroyan, Rev. Joe Matossian of the Armenian Evangelical Church,
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian,
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, as well as major donors
and sponsors.

Video messages were broadcast from Western Primate Archbishop Hovnan
Derderian, California State Assemblyman Paul Krikorian and San
Francisco Mayor and California gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom.

The 2009 Telethon Committee, which has been planning and executing
the project for the past several months, had produced a well-executed
program hosted by 11 community and media leaders from throughout the
United States, all of whom emphasized the importance of the ANCA
Endowment Fund to the advancement of Armenian-American community
aspirations.

Hosts Karine Birazian, Paul Chaderjian, Alina Dorian, Saro Haroun,
Silva Haroutounian, Ari Killian, Roxanne Makasjian, Steve Mesrobian,
Anahid Oshagan, Aram Sarafian and Manoug Seraidarian adeptly navigated
the audience through the six-hour broadcasts, which was intertwined
with information and education segments, live in-studio appearances,
and pleas from community leaders.

Another highlight of the telethon was the participation of community
organizations, churches and schools, which had activated their
membership and raised funds that were presented on behalf of the
respective groups.

The funds raised during the telethon will be allocated to furthering
the mission of the ANCA Endowment Fund to educate and empower the
community toward advancing issues of concern to the Armenian-American
community.

RULING PARTY SWEEPS VICTORY IN FLAWED YEREVAN ELECTION

-party-claims-landslide-victory-in-yerevan-polls-a s-opposition-local-monitors-cry-foul
Jun 1, 2009

YEREVAN (Combined Sources) – President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican
Party of Armenia has swept to a landslide victory in municipal
elections in Yerevan, which the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
and other opposition groups have denounced as flawed.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia
issued an announcement Monday calling the elections "deeply flawed"
and said it would not recognize the results. "We considered the
Yerevan municipal elections as an opportunity for strengthening the
political structure, creating a new government model in the capital,
overcoming the enmity and divisiveness that resulted from the 2008
presidential elections and establishing unity," said the announcement.

"We also believed that fair elections would strengthen the foundations
of democracy in the country and we could prove that we are able to make
progress. Unfortunately, that did not happen," added the announcement.

"Once again, what happened was more of the same. Again, local and
oligarchic clout, bribery and the use of the administrative apparatus
played a role in the elections," asserted the party, adding that
unfortunately, administrative pressure from the authorities, vote
bribes and demagoguery still plague the election process in Armenia.

As such the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia said it would not sign
the final results and urged the authorities to declare the elections
invalid in the precincts that more visibly violated voting procedures.

The Results

The Central Election Commission announced early on June 1 that with all
of the ballots counted, the Republican’s won 47.4 percent of the vote,
enough to reinstall its top candidate, Gagik Beglarian, as Yerevan’s
mayor. The Prosperous Armenia Party, one of the Republican Party’s
two junior partners in the ruling coalition, came in a distant second
with 22.7 percent.

Trailing Prosperous Armenia was the opposition Armenian National
Congress, which the official results showed getting 17.4 percent of
the vote, well below its expectations.

County of Law, the third party represented in Sarkisian’s government,
finished fourth with only 5.2 percent. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation, which was also part of the governing coalition until
recently received about 4.7 percent, according to the commission.

With the vote threshold for single parties seeking to gain seats
in Yerevan’s Council of Elders set at 7 percent, this means that
neither County of Law nor the ARF will be represented in the new
municipal assembly.

The Central Election Commission put voter turnout at over 53
percent. The highest turnout, more than 65 percent, was registered
in the city’s Malatia-Sebastia district, scene of the largest number
of voting irregularities reported by the Armenian opposition, media,
and independent observers.

The first vote results showing a Republican victory were released at
around midnight following opposition allegations of widespread fraud
during the May 31 voting.

Opposition Complains

Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress
complained of systemic fraud, vote rigging, and intimidation after
the closure of the polls and announced late Monday that they will
refuse their seats won in the newly elected City Council, effectively
dropping the 65 member City Council to 52 members.

This assessment of the election administration was shared by the
opposition Heritage party as well, which did not contest the vote
but closely monitored its conduct.

"Our assessment is highly negative," Armen Martirosian, Heritage’s
parliamentary leader, told RFE/RL. "We have botched the first election
of the Yerevan council in a disgraceful fashion."

Martirosian decried "widespread" bussing of allegedly bribed voters by
the two main governing parties. He said Heritage has also registered
"many instances of violence" and ballot-box stuffing. "I think the
police performance today was a disaster," he added.

Republicans Say ‘Free and Fair’

For its part, the Republican Party described the polls as largely
free and fair. "Yes, there were some shortcomings, but by and large
ballot stuffing, multiple voting, and other problems that existed
in the electoral process were essentially absent today," said Eduard
Sharmazanov, the Republican spokesman.

This view was echoed by the election commission, which is dominated
by government loyalists. Speaking on state television, its chairman,
Garegin Azarian, said the commission has investigated the opposition
allegations and most of them proved false.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office similarly said it has looked into
some of the vote-buying claims and found them baseless.

President Hails Outcome

President Sarkisian, meanwhile, welcomed the course and official
results of the weekend elections, saying that they marked a "serious
step forward" in the elimination of Armenia’s culture of electoral
fraud.

In a written address to the nation, Sarkisian congratulated the
governing Republican and Prosperous Armenia parties as well as the
opposition Armenian National Congress on gaining seats in Yerevan’s
new municipal council. He also paid tribute to four other parties
that failed to win representation in the council despite conducting
what he described as "quality election campaigns."

"The May 31 elections and the entire pre-election period demonstrated
that we have managed to solve a considerable part of long-standing
problems existing in electoral processes and moved forward in solving
others," said Sarkisian. "As a result, these elections were a truly
serious step forward."

The president further acknowledged violations in "some polling
stations" and said he will seek to ensure that "all the guilty are
identified and strictly punished."

In what may have been a related development, Armenia’s Office of the
Prosecutor-General urged the Central Election Commission (CEC) to
order vote recounts in eight precincts in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia
district, scene of the largest number of fraud instances reported on
election day.

A spokeswoman for the law-enforcement agency, Sona Truzian, told
RFE/RL that the recommendation stems from media reports of ballot
box stuffing reported from the area. "Also, the prosecutor-general
instructed the launch of a criminal case in connection with media
reports on ballot stuffing and violence against journalists and
observers in various Malatia-Sebastia precincts," she said.

Truzian said the moves came despite the absence of any written
election-related complaints lodged with the prosecutors. Opposition
leaders say such complaints are meaningless because of what they see
as law-enforcement bodies’ complicity in vote rigging.

That there were serious problems in Malatia-Sebastia was acknowledged
on Monday by Abram Bakhchagulian, a member of the CEC affiliates
with the ruling Republican Party. But he said it is too early to say
whether they had a serious impact on overall vote results.

Council of Europe Praises

International observers, meanwhile, said the election met European
standards although there were some problems.

"This election was a step forward in comparison with elections held
in September 2008," Nigel Mermagen, head of the Council of Europe
observation mission, told a news conference, Reuters reported.

"Some shortcomings were recorded," he said, adding, however, that
"the overall organization of the elections has been broadly carried
out in compliance with European standards.

The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
(CLRAE) deployed the largest international mission, consisting of
12 members, to monitor the polls. They claimed to have visited about
half of more than 400 polling stations across Yerevan on election day.

Mermagen did not elaborate on irregularities witnessed by members
of his team, saying that they will be detailed in a final election
report to be submitted to the CLRAE by October. More importantly,
he made clear that the Europeans believe those irregularities did
not call into question the legitimacy of the official vote results
that gave a landslide victory to the Republicans.

"They had some influence on the final results but not to the extent
that the legitimacy of the final results was prejudiced, as far as we
could see at this moment in time," said the Council of Europe official.

Major Armenian elections have traditionally been monitored by
hundreds of observers deployed by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE and its Warsaw-based Office of
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) did not observe
the Yerevan polls, citing a lack of a formal invitation from the
Armenian authorities.

Local Monitors Cry Foul

The initial findings of the Council of Europe’s observer mission
were in sharp contrast to widespread vote buying and other fraud
reported by opposition representatives, mass media and Armenian
civic groups that monitored the vote. "I have a single word for
what we experienced yesterday: shock," said Amalia Kostanian of the
Center for Regional Development (CRD), the Armenian affiliate of the
Berlin-based Transparency International. "We are shocked. And we are
people who have long monitored elections."

The CRD and the Vanadzor branch of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly
jointly deployed 60 observers in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia district,
one of the main trouble spots during Sunday’s voting. Kostanian said
their detailed election report will be released soon.

As Mermagen presented the largely positive findings of the Council
of Europe observer mission, he was subjected to angry questionings
by some of the journalists present at his news conference. One of
them pointed out that the May 31 elections saw a record-high number
of reported attacks on journalists.

Another journalist, who was reportedly assaulted by government
loyalists at a Malatia-Sebastia polling station visited by Mermagen,
accused the observer mission chief of being "indifferent" to fraud
and violence reports and avoiding conversations with opposition
proxies. She even suggested that the observers prejudged the
authorities’ handling of the elections even before election day.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

WASHINGTON CONFERENCE PROVIDES FORUM FOR US, TURKISH OFFICIALS TO ‘REVIEW’ RELATIONS

ngton-conference-provides-forum-for-us-turkish-off icials-to-review-relations/
Jun 1, 2009

WASHINGTON -Senior Turkish and U.S. officials are meeting in Washington
DC Monday to discuss their countries’ political, defense, and business
relationships during an annual two-day conference designed to boost
cooperation between the two allies. Hosted by the American-Turkish
Council, the annual conference on U.S.-Turkish relations is a forum
for government and military officials, business leaders and academics
to discuss issues and opportunities to boosting the two nations’
political and trade ties. This year’s conference is the 28th meeting
organized by the group and takes place approximately two months after
President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey.

Top Turkish officials attending conference were Chief of General Staff
General Ilker Basbug and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Basbug will
also meet this week with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and visit a number of U.S. military facilities. The
two men will be keynote speakers at the ATC’s opening dinner Monday
night. Davutoglu, who was appointed foreign minister by Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a Cabinet reshuffle at the end of April, will
also meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later this
week. Davutoglu will speak at the ATC conference on Tuesday. Egemen
Bagis, the Turkish state minister responsible for European Union
relations, and Transport Minister Binali Yildirim are also attending
the conference. US Democratic Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, will address the conference Tuesday as
well. Obama’s visit aimed to restore the U.S.-Turkish ties that were
damaged during former Republican president George W. Bush’s term,
mainly due to disputes related to the Iraq war. The ATC, whose members
include major U.S. and Turkish companies doing business in each other’s
countries, seeks to boost the two nations’ political and trade ties.

ARMENIA: YEREVAN VOTE IS DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Marianna Grigoryan

Eurasianet

June 1, 2009

Armenians appear headed for another round of election-related acrimony
following a contentious Yerevan Council Election on May 31. As in
recent national elections, official results favored the governing
Republican Party of Armenia by a wide margin. Opposition supporters
complained bitterly about irregularities, but, as in the past,
international observers offered only cautious criticism.

The vote marked the first time a Yerevan mayor was determined
on the basis of the City Council election results, rather than
by presidential appointment. With that significance in mind, media
presented the election as a second chance for the political comeback of
ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian, the lead candidate for the Armenian
National Congress (ANC), after his defeat in the 2008 presidential
elections. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

But, based on preliminary official results, Ter-Petrosian’s comeback
stalled almost as soon as it began. The Republican Party secured
more than 46 percent of the ballots cast, easily enough to ensure
that its top council candidate — incumbent mayor Gagik Beglarian —
would retain his post.

Government coalition member Prosperous Armenia, a deep-pocketed
contender headed by oligarch Gagik Tsarukian, garnered roughly 22
percent of the vote, while the opposition Armenian National Congress,
headed by former president Ter-Petrosian, finished a distant third,
with some 17 percent of the vote.

The Rule of Law Party, a government coalition member, and the
nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation failed to make the cut
for seats in the 65-member city council. Turnout was placed at 52.85
percent of Yerevan’s 771,477 eligible voters.

To protest the results, Ter-Petrosian announced a rally in central
Yerevan for the evening of June 1. The former Armenian president
declined to field reporters’ questions on election day, however,
and has not released a statement. In a May 31 press conference,
senior ANC member Levon Zurabian charged that the government would
focus on falsifying the vote count.

It would seem that even some government agencies see the possibility
of wrongdoing. According to a report distributed by the Interfax
news agency, the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office has called
for a recount in eight voting precincts. Prosecutor General Agvan
Hovsepyan indicated that his office may open a criminal investigation.

Even so, in an apparent warning to Ter-Petrosian supporters, Prime
Minister Tigran Sarkisian underlined the need for Armenian politicians
to learn how to "have the courage to accept defeat gracefully."

"These are . . . partly mayoral elections," commented independent
political analyst Yervand Bozoian. "It’s a [national] political
struggle, in fact."

And like the 2008 presidential elections, it was a struggle that
occurred amid accusations of electoral skulduggery.

The opposition Heritage Party’s representative to the Central Election
Commission refused to sign the final vote protocol as a result of what
she termed "large-scale election fraud." "Signing the document would
mean concluding a bargain with the authorities," Zoya. Tadevosian said,
A1plus.am news site reported.

Attacks against journalists headlined the list of complaints. At
least five such cases were reported by the end of voting on May
31. Ballot-box stuffing, transportation of out-of-town voters to
Yerevan, polling-station scuffles, vote buying, and the expulsion of
observers from polling stations were among other reported abuses.

Gohar Vezirian, a reporter for the pro-opposition Chorrord Ishkhanutiun
newspaper, told EurasiaNet that she was beaten and verbally abused
by supporters of Mayor Beglarian after complaining to one polling
station commission chairman about the "intrusion" of a Republican
Party MP and "three dozen supporters." She declined, however, to file
a police report.

Representatives of Transparency International and the Helsinki Human
Rights Assembly of Armenia both declared the conduct of the vote
"terrible."

Helsinki Assembly observer Artur Sakunts, who monitored the voting
in polling station No. 9 in Yerevan’s Malatia-Sebastia District,
asserted that vote falsification surpassed levels for any election
he had observed in the past decade. "Cases of [ballot box] stuffing
have been witnessed everywhere. They bring people by cars . . . they
tried to find reasons to have us leave the station several times to
try to make falsifications," Sakunts claimed.

Central Election Commission representatives were not immediately
available to respond to the specific observer allegations. One hour
after polling stations closed on May 31, however, CEC Chairman Garegin
Azarian claimed that most of the violation reports "did not correspond
with reality."

"We have gotten alarmed calls as well, but not all of them are
confirmed," Azarian stated on Armenian Public Television.

Some 5,635 local observers and the Council of Europe’s Congress of
Regional and Local Authorities monitored the vote. At a June 1 news
conference, the 15 Council of Europe observers noted the occurrence
of "some shortcomings." But the observers added that the vote was
"largely conducted in compliance with European standards."

Voter reactions ran the gamut. Arevhat Mkrtchian, an 80-something
voter in Malatia-Sebastia district, affirmed that Armenians need
"to believe in the country’s rulers." Hairdresser Inessa Gharibian,
however, weary of opposition-government jousting, said that she had
decided not to vote. "The outcome of elections in this country is
pre-determined," she said.

Republican Party spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov took a pragmatic
view, echoing official statements that the vote is "a step forward
on the road to democracy."

"We need to realize there can’t be ideal elections in a country that
gained independence only 18 years ago," Sharmazanov said.

ARMENIA: IS PRESIDENT SARGSYAN’S AMNESTY OFFER POLITICS OR PR?
Marianna Grigoryan

Eurasianet

May 29, 2009

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s recent announcement that he
is prepared to consider a prisoner amnesty has fueled debate about
his motivations. Some Armenians believe it is a tactical maneuver
designed to influence the outcome of Yerevan’s May 31 City Council
elections. Opposition politicians, meanwhile, suggest the president
is trying to burnish Armenia’s international human rights record.

In his May 28 statement, Sargsyan asked political parties and the
Public Council, a 36-member advisory body, to submit suggestions about
what form an amnesty should take. "I am ready to use my constitutional
right if the idea of granting new amnesties has taken hold in society,"
Sargsyan declared during a visit to Sardarapat battlefield, where
Armenian forces defeated Ottoman Turkey in 1918.

Opinion pollsters are not allowed to release surveys in the week
preceding the vote, but some analysts see the election as a critical
showdown between the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
and ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress
(ANC). The City Council vote offers voters their first opportunity
to express their political preferences since the highly contentious
and ultimately violent 2008 presidential election. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The council vote is also the first that will determine who will be the
capital’s mayor. Previously the mayor was a presidential appointee. In
this election, the party that controls more than 40 percent of the
seats will see its candidate named as mayor.

"The major competition will again evolve between the opposition —
the ANC — and the authorities, the RPA," said independent political
analyst Yerevand Bozoian. Another analyst, Andranik Tevanian, head of
the PolitEconomy research center, seconded that view, though predicts
fresh support for the Prosperous Armenia Party, a member of Armenia’s
governing coalition, and the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, which recently left the coalition over
the government’s talks with Turkey. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

Republican Party of Armenia representatives deny that the president’s
statement was a "campaign trick." Sargsyan’s amnesty offer "is an
expression of his goodwill and has no connection with getting votes,"
commented Republican Party spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov.

For now, analysts are refraining from predicting how either the
opposition or the RPA might benefit from a potential amnesty. One
senior Ter-Petrosian supporter believes that Sargsyan is now talking
amnesty as a sop to the international community; in particular, to
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which
has twice considered applying sanctions against Armenia in the wake
of the March 2008 crackdown on opposition protesters that led to
the death of 10 people and the imprisonment of scores of opposition
activists. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

PACE will again examine Armenia’s reform progress on June 5, five
days after the Yerevan council vote. "It’s somewhat unclear what the
authorities will exactly get in the upcoming elections by saying those
words, but, obviously, Serzh Sargsyan is trying to please the PACE
to gain more time," commented opposition activist Suren Sureniants.

International observer missions, including 15 observers from the
Council of Europe’s Congress of Regional and Local authorities, have
stated that they will closely monitor the Yerevan vote. They have
expressed a clear expectation that the conduct of the citywide election
should mark a considerable improvement over the handling of the 2008
presidential vote. [For background see the Eurasia insight archive].

Appeals for an amnesty have been repeatedly made by international
organizations — the latest coming in an April 30 PACE report. Until
now, however, Sargsyan has dodged questions about his intentions to
grant an amnesty. On April 10, for example, he said during a news
conference: "We’ll see when the time comes."

Analyst Bozoian believes that Sargsyan has now declared himself open
to the idea because he senses opposition support is waning. Attendance
at recent opposition rallies has fallen off considerably from earlier
gatherings. "I have the impression that the opposition is becoming
weaker and the authorities do not feel them to be that dangerous
anymore, so they will gradually release people, and will grant an
amnesty," Bozoian said.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a freelance reporter based
in Yerevan.

WATCH A1+

A1+
11:27 am | June 01, 2009

Society

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former 300 drams.

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You can keep abreast with the most important events in Armenia on
your cellphone.

If your cellphone is connected to GPRS or 3G services you can watch
A1+ on the screen of your cellphone.

For the first time ever, "A1+" offers news in a video format on
your cellphone.

Just send an SMS and you can watch the series of A1+’s news on your
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Whether you are an "ArmenTel" or "VivaCell" subscriber, send the
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Watch "A1+" all around Armenia.

The service is paid and the cost of an SMS is 90 drams, including VAT.

For technical problems contact us at: 010 52-32-18 or 099 55-50-87.

OPPOSITION REFUSED

A1+
08:55 pm | June 01, 2009

Politics

The Armenian National Congress (HAK) will have no representatives in
the Yerevan City Council. "The HAK is not going to work with these
authorities," HAK’s candidate for the Yerevan Mayor Levon Ter-Petrosyan
announced during today’s rally minutes ago.

"THE OPPOSITION IS READY FOR ABRUPT STEPS"

A1+
08:51 pm | June 01, 2009

Politics

HAK Coordinator Levon Zurabyan today referred to yesterday’s vote
violations. "The authorities are doing their best for us to speak to
them in their language, i.e. in the language of violence and beating,"
said Mr. Zurabyan.

"The opposition is ready for abrupt steps but people should be
prepared, too. The most striking rigging came from Malatia-Sebastia
district," announced Mr. Zurabyan and handed the microphone to the
head of HAK’s pre-election office Vahagn Khachatryan.

"We witnessed the worst rigging in Malatia – starting from a voter’s
abduction to ballot stuffing. Everything was done to divert public
attention," said Mr. Khachatryan.

Vahagn Khachatrya thanked everyone who participated in the vote. The
opposition leaders remembered all those who were absent for good
reasons, including Nikol Pashinyan who celebrates his birthday on
June 1.

PEOPLE EXPECT HAK TO ACT

A1+
08:10 pm | June 01, 2009

Politics

"We feared lest you should be disappointed with the election
outcome. But your presence and determination encourage us to continue
the struggle," senior oppositionist Ararat Zurabyan said during
today’s rally of the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK).

"Like the previous rallies this one is also large-scale," HAK’s
representative David Shahnazaryan noted in his addressing speech. He
dwelt on yesterday’s polls and said the election was unprecedented
in terms of election frauds and large scale of violence.

"When speaking of the election, Serzh Sargsyan should take into account
that the election can make history due to abundant violations. Starting
from this moment the HAK’s first and foremost task is to demand Serzh
Sargsyan’s resignation."

The preseentees welcomed Mr. Shahnazaryan’s announced with a loud
applause.

The most striking is that the ralliers are very active today and
continually chant "Hima" (now).

They are curious to know HAK’s further steps.