LEAVING FOR BISHKEK
A1+
06:50 pm | July 30, 2009
Official
Serzh Sargsyan will pay a working visit to Bishkek on July 31 to
participate in the non-official meeting of the Presidents of the
member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as
reported by the President’s Press Office.
SWINE FLU ENTRY RESTRICTED?
A1+
06:37 pm | July 30, 2009
Society
Nobody has contracted the H1N1 virus in Armenia. There are only 8
cases of the flu, laboratory investigations of patients, but the
virus has not been revealed.
According to chief expert of the state inspectorate for hygiene and
pandemics of the Health Ministry Liana Torosyan, the entry of the
H1N1 virus is excluded.
There is an operative group comprised of experts, a hotline and
large-scale projects aimed at providing hospitals with equipment, as
well as raising awareness of the doctors and the population. According
to her, there is a separate building at the "Nork" infection hospital
where there is corresponding medical aid in case of need.
Liana Torosyan says that all passing points supervise people coming
from the so-called "insecure countries" like the USA, Mexico, Spain
and Argentina.
"The H1N1 virus is like the usual flu and it is even cured more
easily. I can say that the seasonal flu creates more problems than
the H1N1," said Liana Torosyan. She also said that measures are being
taken to identify the virus.
First, people who reach the passing point go through a check-up and are
asked to fill out a special questionnaire, which states the residence
of the person. The information is then sent to the territorial
polyclinics and the individuals go through seven days of supervision.
The "Zvartnots" international airport has a sanitary-quarantine point
and people’s temperatures are determined at a distance through special
thermometers. There are special trainings for tourism agency workers
and the statistics on the virus are updated from time to time based
on information from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The chief expert of the inspectorate for hygiene and pandemics advised
citizens to maintain norms of hygiene and not to panic in case of
identifying symptoms of the flu.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ELITE PARTICIPATED IN PARADE
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06:00 pm | July 30, 2009
Society
Republic Square was closed down today as the entire political and
military elite came to participate in the military parade. Anybody
who wanted to enter the square, including accredited journalists
on the scene to cover the event, had to make huge efforts to get
through. After presenting ourselves, we found ourselves in front of
the Paronyan Theater and found out that we had to travel around the
Zakiyan, Amiryan and the back of Erebuni Hotel just to make it close
to the square. Serzh Sargsyan’s presence at the square was making it
hard for the journalists and average citizens were simply deprived
of the right to walk on public streets.
The ceremony of handing certificates to graduates of military
educational institutions started at 10 a.m. at Republic Square
following the military parade which, for some reason, the master of
ceremonies called a "ceremonial meeting".
The graduates and future young army officials showed their skills and
fighting capabilities through dances accompanied by different kinds
of music. The graduates were not only from the Military Institute
after Vazgen Sargsyan, military-medical faculty of the Yerevan State
Medical University after Heratsi and the Aviation Institute of Armenia,
but also from military institutions abroad. Participating in the
event were the military attaches of the Russian Federation, the USA,
Greece, Switzerland, Iran, Georgia and Bulgaria. The celebration was
dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the military institute named
after Vazgen Sargsyan.
During the ceremonial meeting Serzh Sargsyan made his remarks and
mentioned that the "army is stronger with its personnel, which is
the backbone of the army."
"The Armenian army will continue its holy mission and will remain
the reliable defender of the security of the people and the nation,
as well as the pivotal and irreplaceable component for peace and
security in the region. Today we are stronger than ever because we
have a strong, modern army capable of solving any issue. The army
has stood the test of war and peace and has embodied the spirit of
victory of the Armenian people."
Among other speakers were RA Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan,
Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Head of the Military Institute
Martun Karapetyan, graduate Artur Papikyan and a grandfather of one of
the graduates, participant of the Artsakh liberation war Misha Shadyan.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
SPECIAL RALLY POSSIBLE
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05:19 pm | July 30, 2009
Politics
Armenian National Congress representative David Shahnazaryan is
certain that the members of the ANC are the future authorities and
opposition. Shahnazaryan assured journalists today that the ANC is sure
of one thing and that is change of power and special parliamentary
elections. As for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
they will determine that after reaching the first goal.
"What we need today is change of power, power of the people and the
people’s opposition. Then, we will determine which resolution is in
favor of our people and Artsakh," said David Shahnazaryan, arguing that
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has entered a very grave stage. He has
the impression that the great powers are going to compel a solution
to the sides.
According to him, there are four factors that can impede the process.
"If Armenia sees change of power, parliamentary and presidential
elections and if it is possible to form a government elected by
the people soon, it will be possible to improve some points of the
document that is currently on the table," said the ANC representative
and listed the other three factors.
The second factor, according to him, is for Russia to change its
decision; the third is for Azerbaijan’s president not to be satisfied
with all he receives and fourth, the geopolitical force-majeure.
"It is very possible for us to hold special rallies depending on the
developments," said David Shahnazaryan.
According to him, the processes have become so active and dangerous
that instead of trying to save the situation, the authorities avoid
taking responsibility and he considered former president Robert
Kocharyan and foreign affairs minister Vardan Oskanyan as the ones
responsible.
"I am inviting Oskanyan to a debate so that I can prove that all
that he said was not true and that he and Kocharyan are the ones most
responsible for all this."
ADDRESSED THE MINISTER
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12:48 pm | July 30, 2009
Official
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia
division Holly Cartner sent an open letter to the RA Minister of
Justice.
Human Rights Watch appeals to the RA Minister of Justice Gevorg
Danielyan to immediately interfere in the case of editor-in-chief
of "Zhamanak-Yerevan" newspaper Arman Babajanyan and calls on the
corresponding bodies to ensure his treatment at the highest level
possible.
Let us recall that Babajanyan has a brain swelling, which has an
impact on his vision and needs immediate medical treatment.
Human Rights Watch is Deeply Concerned About Arman Babajanyan’s
State of Health On July 29 Human Rights Watch sent open letter to the
Minister of Justice Gevorg Danielyan encouraging for his immediate
intervention in urging the responsible authorities to provide Arman
Babajanyan with the highest possible standard of treatment.
July 29, 2009
Dear Minister Danielyan,
We are writing regarding the well known journalist and editor,
Arman Babajanian, who is currently nearing the end of his
three-and-a-half-year prison term on charges of draft evasion.
We have learned that Mr. Babajanian has been diagnosed with a brain
tumor, which is affecting his eyesight and requires urgent medical
intervention. We are very concerned about his health and therefore ask
for your immediate intervention in urging the responsible authorities
to provide him with the highest possible standard of treatment.
Arman Babajanian is the founder and editor-in-chief of Zhamanak
Daily, an independent daily newspaper published in Yerevan and Los
Angeles, California. He was arrested on June 26, 2006 on charges of
evading military service and falsification of documents related to his
military service. He admitted to the charges, paid the required fines,
and was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in prison. Babajanian
has now served most of his sentence and scheduled to be released in
about a month and a half.
In July 2008 Human Rights Watch urged the Armenian authorities to
grant Mr. Babajanian’s request for parole on good behavior. Despite
international encouragement the Armenian authorities did not grant
the request.
We hope that you will do everything in your power to ensure
Mr. Babajanian’s access to the highest possible standard of treatment.
We thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely, Holly Cartner Executive Director Europe and Central Asia
Division Human Rights Watch
FREE BY THE GRACE OF SARGSYAN
by Arpi Harutyunyan
Transitions Online
nguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=332&N rSection=1&NrArticle=20737
July 30 2009
Czech Republic
Armenian analysts and politicians disagree on the motivation and
possible consequences of the presidential amnesty.
YEREVAN | The amnesty extended to most of the Armenian oppositionists
jailed for taking part in violent anti-government demonstrations
18 months ago was a gesture of good will and a call to dialogue by
President Serzh Sargsyan. That is the view of the ruling Republican
Party and most other parliamentary parties. Opponents outside
parliament, headed by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, claim
the authorities’ cognizance of the illegality of sending opposition
supporters to jail pushed Sargsyan to free them, with a nudge from
the gadfly Council of Europe.
Sargsyan appears to have smoothed the often ragged relations with the
Council of Europe, the continent’s largest human rights monitoring and
enforcement body. But his political opponents have not been mollified
by the amnesty, which they say was a sham because those imprisoned
had committed no crimes.
The president in military dress and thoughtful mood. Photo: Armenian
Presidency
This spring, more than a year after 10 people died in protests against
the election of Sargsyan and more than 100 opposition supporters were
jailed, signs of a thaw began to emerge.
During celebrations of First Republic Day on 28 May, the president
said he was ready to appeal to the parliament with an amnesty request
if asked to do so by political forces and civil society.
Some observers had predicted such a move, among them political analyst
Alexander Iskandaryan, who directs the Caucasus Institute think tank.
"I believe the authorities should not see them as a threat anymore," he
said after the amnesty was announced, referring to the oppositionists
jailed after the violence of 1-2 March 2008. "It’s a step that will
relieve the domestic tensions created after the 1 March events."
The government had come under strong pressure from the Council of
Europe. Co-rapporteurs on Armenia for the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, John Prescott and George Colombier held more
than a dozen meetings with Armenian officials, and Armenia was warned
it could be stripped of its right to vote in the assembly. After
PACE passed three resolutions urging Armenian authorities to release
all political prisoners, the government amended two articles of the
criminal code, on usurpation of power and organizing mass disorder,
under which several of the accused had been charged.
Early in May, Colombier and Prescott expressed satisfaction over the
changes to the criminal code but repeated PACE’s urging to release
all the jailed protesters who had not been convicted of violent crimes.
At that point the government had little alternative, political
scientist Abraham Gasparyan says, and its only option was to make
a move that would satisfy both the public and the international
community.
"Armenia’s foreign policies have a European vector, and it could not
ignore a Council of Europe demand like that," he said.
PROTESTS SPARKED MASS ARRESTS
On 19 June a special session of the National Assembly approved
Sargsyan’s request for a general amnesty by a vote of 98 to 1, with
three abstentions.
Even though more than 2,000 prisoners were eligible to be amnestied,
the focus of public attention fell on the 110 or so arrested during
the March 2008 protests and on several prominent opposition figures
who had not been charged but were under official suspicion of helping
foment unrest. By late July nearly 700 prisoners had been freed.
The jailed opposition figures included former high officials and
current parliamentarians who had appeared in court charged with
instigating, organizing, and leading the protests that got out of
control on 1-2 March 2008, two weeks after a disputed presidential
election.
After losing that election to Sargsyan, Ter-Petrosian contested the
legitimacy of the result and asked his supporters to launch a series
of rallies and sit-ins demanding Sargsyan’s impeachment. Early in the
morning of 1 March, saying the opposition’s 11 daylong sit-ins were
unsanctioned and claiming to have information that some protesters
were concealing weapons in preparation for a coup, police dispersed
the crowds on the capital’s Liberty Square.
The opposition supporters moved to another square where they erected
barricades and then, authorities say, assaulted police. The resulting
street fighting left 10 dead, including two soldiers. A series of
arrests followed the clashes; more than 110 people were charged with
owning unauthorized weapons, as well as instigating, organizing,
and leading mass disorders. The opposition viewed the arrests of its
activists as political persecution and insisted its jailed supporters
were political prisoners.
The most prominent prisoners included parliamentarians Myasnik
Malkhasyan and Hakob Hakobyan, former Foreign Minister Alexander
Arzumanyan, and the former head of the interior ministry’s security
service, Suren Sirunyan, all of whom received jail terms of four to
five years.
The amnesty also applies to those were charged over the 2008 violence
but never brought to trial, if they report to authorities by 31
July. One prominent protest leader who did so, newspaper editor Nikol
Pashinyan, however, was arrested after he emerged from hiding and
reported to a police station on 1 July.
The amnesty did not concern the cases of 17 imprisoned politicians
whose sentences exceeded five years, including Sasun Mikayelyan,
who was sentenced to eight years in prison for possession of an
unauthorized weapon.
The amnesty also set free prisoners age 60 and older, juveniles
who committed crimes before the age of 18, and those charged with
election fraud.
Most Armenian political forces, including the parliamentary and some
non-parliamentary parties, welcomed Sargsyan’s move as a significant
step toward the building of democratic institutions and discovering
the truth about the post-election protests.
HUMANITARIAN GESTURE OR SURVIVAL GAMBIT?
Where analysts and politicians disagree is on the question of
Sargsyan’s motivation for freeing the opposition protesters at
this time.
Rafik Petrosyan, a prominent member of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia, said there was certainly "some connection between the PACE
demands and the pardon. … We are a member of the Council of Europe
and need to keep to its rules, whether we wish to or not, or we can
leave. PACE demanded an amnesty specifying that it concern only the
dissidents [those detained for political views], while keeping in
prison persons who committed offenses under criminal law. The state
then took its step, choosing something in the middle," Petrosyan said.
Petrosyan’s colleague, Republican Party spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov,
however, said on 24 June that "the amnesty was granted for our country,
not the European structures."
"I share my colleagues’ views that the page has not been completely
turned on the 1 March events by the amnesty, but I’d like to add
that the country has avoided crisis during the year and a half
following the events, and there are no grounds for political tensions
[now]. That the opposition plans new rallies is its right, I believe,
and it is clear already the [opposition] Armenian National Congress
is preparing for 2012 parliamentary elections."
Political analyst Gasparyan argues that Sargsyan finally acted to ease
a multitude of burdens that had descended on his shoulders since his
disputed election.
"Despite the number of reforms initiated by President Sargsyan to
improve the efficiency of the political system over the last year
and a half, the period of his rule so far has been full of dramatic
social developments, including the 1 March events, the negative
response of the international community, the economic crisis, the
unfair elections. A humanitarian move of the kind was therefore a
necessity to ease public tension amid all those calamities, above all
for the sake of keeping power in [his own] hands," the analyst said.
Opposition groups viewed the authorities’ handling of the imprisoned
demonstrators in a more critical light. The extra-parliamentary
parties crowed at scoring their biggest victory over the regime. Levon
Zurabyan, coordinator of Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress,
stated on 20 June that there was nothing to forgive or pardon the
released prisoners for because they had committed no crimes.
"We believe the authorities are not aiming to create an atmosphere of
national reconciliation or even to ease the political atmosphere. In
fact, semi-measures like this will only intensify the confrontation,"
Zurabyan said.
"The charges against us were not proved in court. This was a show
that lasted a year, with false witnesses and fabricated evidence. This
so-called amnesty is not comprehensive and many of our friends are in
jail, so we will go on struggling!" former Foreign Minister Arzumanyan,
one of the major organizers of the post-election protests, stated
after his release.
Armenian Foreign Ministry photo of Alexander Arzumanyan, who
served as minister from 1996 to 1998 during the presidency of Levon
Ter-Petrosian. Arzumanyan was jailed for his part in the March 2008
anti-government protests and released under the June amnesty law.
Responding to opposition accusations of the illegality of the
detentions and trials, Sharmazanov of the Republican Party claimed
that "the 1 March events were prepared well ahead. The facts brought
out in court proved that some of the defendants kept large amounts
of explosives and weapons in their homes in preparation for a coup
d’état. Who, if not the person making a coup attempt, should stand
responsible?"
On 17 May a court heard a tape of a phone call prosecutors said was
recorded on 1 March 2008 in which Arzumanyan allegedly urged other
opposition activists to continue the disorderly protests.
Most of those charged over the March 2008 violence are now
free. Meanwhile, the extra-parliamentary opposition continues to demand
Sargsyan’s impeachment and to reject any possibility of dialogue
with the authorities; this position was reiterated by Ter-Petrosian
on 2 July, countering officials’ claim that the amnesty had created
a forum for dialogue.
Karapet Rubinyan of the Armenian National Congress, a member of
parliament during Ter-Petrosian’s years in office (1991-1998) said,
"The authorities should not expect those released to be grateful to
them. On the contrary, those who were arrested and charged in regard
to the 1 March events will sue them after their release."
No such lawsuits have been filed against authorities.
The ANC, though, believes the amnesty was, as coordinator Zurabyan
put it, "a serious victory over the incumbent regime that came after
a year and a half of consistent struggle and the pressure imposed by
the Council of Europe," rather than a manifestation of the authorities’
political will.
Political analyst Gasparyan sees the amnesty if anything as a boost to
Sargsyan. The doubts of the non-parliamentary opposition, Ter-Petrosian
in particular, that the authorities would have the will to go through
with an amnesty proved wrong, he said.
The government’s recent decisions paid off, Gasparyan said, when at
its summer session PACE welcomed the amnesty and the changes to the
criminal code. The assembly’s resolution also repeated its calls
for an unbiased investigation of the 2008 unrest and for Armenian
authorities to respect the principle of freedom of assembly, and, amid
allegations of irregularities during the Yerevan municipal election
in May, urged the government to make cleaner elections a priority.
Arpi Harutyunyan is a reporter for the non-commercial news site
ArmeniaNow.com.
RIVER OUTFLOW
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12:34 pm | July 30, 2009
Official
On July 29 at 10:40 a.m. the Rescue Service received information that
the coast-guard wall near the "Armenia" sanitary complex is breaking
due to the Vanadzor River outflow.
The operative group of the Lori region rescue service left for the
scene. The level of the river went down at 9:20 p.m. and the wall is
not in danger.
Hail in Aramus The rain and hail on July 28 from 6-8 p.m. destroyed
Aramus village resident S. Lazarian’s hothouse, windows and damaged
the infusion system.
Hail in Tavush The hail and heavy rains in the Teghut, Vazashen
and Aygehovit villages of the Tavush and Dilijan regions on July 28
damaged the fields, meadows and electric wires of the districts.
A committee has been created to measure the size of the damage caused.
TRUE COMMUNIST MUST NOT BE NATIONALIST OR CHAUVINIST LIKE ARMENIAN COMMUNISTS: AZERBAIJANI COMMUNIST PARTY CHIEF
Today.Az
54261.html
July 30 2009
Azerbaijan
"A true communist must not be nationalist or chauvinist like Armenian
communists," chairman of the Azerbaijan Communist Party based on
Marxism and Leninism Telman Nurullayev said while commenting on refusal
of Armenian communists to cooperate with Azerbaijani counterparts on
Karabakh problem.
"Such a position always befits the Armenian side. Nationalism
and separatism prevails in a left-wing Communist Party of
Armenia. Internationalism is a fundamental principle of any
communist. Communists must be international and ready for a dialogue
with their counterparts from other countries. The Communists of Armenia
are isolated and do not cooperate with the communist parties of the
post-Soviet area," he said.
"Left parties of Azerbaijan made proposals to Armenian to initiate
discussions on the Karabakh conflict. This is our stance and we
firmly believe that we can come to the negotiating table with Armenian
communists," Nurullayev said.
"As communists and leftist parties are part of the labor force and
labor force have never wanted a conflict or war between nations,
from this point of view we turned to the Armenian-left parties to
jointly discuss ways to resolve conflict peacefully," he added.
"We suggested in advance that the Armenian side will provide a
negative response, but we fulfilled our duty. If the Armenians are
not communicative and does not want to negotiate with us, it is their
stance," he said.
SIX-YEAR SCHOOLING PROPOSAL
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12:33 pm | July 30, 2009
Society
Co-chairman of the "League of Armenian Culture" NGO Ashot Aghababyan
is certain that the application of correct methods will develop the
mental abilities of students and teach them chemistry, physics, foreign
languages and other subjects within a couple of months. According to
him, every tenth student in Armenia is gifted with mental abilities
and it is simply necessary to identify them and develop those abilities
at a special center.
Ashot Aghababyan is a chemist by profession and has written many
books. He has been involved in identifying gifted students and
developing their mental abilities for fifteen years.
"Japan started enlisting its gifted children since 1945 and today we
see how much that country has progressed.
We have held special courses with gifted children in a number of
schools. Everyone praises this, but nobody really needs it. Everything
is based on intellect and repetition in our schools, while 98% of
schoolchildren don’t know a foreign language," said Aghababyan to
"A1+".
"Mesrop Mashtots knew what he was doing when he opened the first
school for gifted children who went on to become the founders of
the Golden Age," said Aghababyan and added that it is necessary to
create a concept for gifted students in the educational system, as
well as teach psychology and logistics in schools. There are some
problems with applying the method in regions. The NGO has addressed
individual businessmen and Ministry of Education and Science several
times, but in vain.
"We still haven’t received a reply from the ministry. They are not
rejecting, but simply "putting it aside."
Only the National Education Institute responded and said that there
is no expert for gifted children in Armenia," said advocate of the
NGO Artur Karapetyan.
We tried to clear things up from the Ministry of Education and
Science. Head of the Department of Extracurricular Education Arman
Ayvazyan was well aware of the method proposed by Aghababyan and has
even worked with the organization. "What they’re proposing requires
a lot of money. We presented this proposal to the government within
the Mid-term expense program, but the issue remains unsolved," he
said. According to him, the new method will allow students to take
the year-long course in one semester.
"It turns out that children must stay in school for 6 years, while
the instructional program is for one year. Besides that, students
with high capabilities in many schools set a good example for the
poor students and imagine what would happen if we took all those good
students away," said Arman Ayvazyan.
ARMENIA ANNOUNCE TEAM FOR BERLIN
European Athletics
php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7602&a mp;Itemid=2
July 30 2009
Sprinter Ani Khachikyan and Javelin thrower Melik Janoyan will
represent Armenia at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics
to be held in Berlin through August 15-23.
Khachikyan, with a personal best of 12.17, will participate in 100m
run. She also holds the national junior record of Armenia.
Melik Janoyan also a national record holder with a personal best of
78.03 will be hoping to give his best amidst the top throwers in the
world at the German capital. His season best achieved at Artashat in
May stands at 73.61.
The duo also wore the Armenian colours at the Beijing Olympic
Games. Besides, they have represented Armenia at several international
meet over the years.