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FIRST SENTENCE PASSED ON CASE RELATED TO ELECTION DAY

Noyan Tapan
Feb 25, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The first sentence was passed on
a criminal case related to the election day in the RA presidential
elections.

As NT correspondent was informed by spkeswoman for the RA prosecutor
general Sona Truzian, the Lori regional court on February 25
passed a sentence: a fine of 500 thousand drams was imposed on Edmon
Gevorgian, an empowered person of the RA presidential candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian, for preventing the work of the electoral commission
in polling station 32/53. The accused accepted the charge and asked
the court to conduct an accelerated court examination.

12 criminal cases related to the election day were opened by the RA
Special Investigation Service. The 11 other cases have not yet been
sent to court.

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb. 24, 2008

Shooting occurred while detaining Deputy Prosecutor General of
Armenia Gagik Jhangirian, three wounded

[ 24 Feb 2008 14:23 ]

Yerevan – APA. Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia Gagik Jhangirian,
who was dismissed for supporting the opposition, has been detained by
Interior Ministry’s Department to Combat Organized Crimes, the
ministry’s press service made a statement, APA reports quoting
Armenian mass media.

The statement says that Department to Combat Organized Crimes
received report that there are armed persons in BMW X5 and VAZ-211010
and they want to strain the situation in Yerevan. The cars were
detained in Argavand village near Yerevan at 23.00 on February 23.
The persons in the car resisted.

Officer of the Department to Combat Organized Crimes Rafig Muradyan
negligently wounded his colleague Gevork Malkhasyan, head inspector
of the Interior Ministry Tigran Karapetyan and Vardan Jhangirian.
Various firearms, dagger, handcuffs and body armour were found on
Gagik Jhangirian, his brother Vardan Jhangirian, Karen Ovannisian and
Leva Pogosyan. Vardan Jhangirian was arrested.

Armenian Interior Ministry’s statement does not say whether Gagik
Jhangirian has been arrested or not.

Today, Azerbaijan
Feb 21 2008

EU representative Havier Solana: "EU expects new President of Armenia
to intensify efforts for resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict"

21 February 2008 [14:18] – Today.Az

The European Union hopes that the new president of Armenia Serzh
Sarkisyan will intensify efforts for resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

The due information is contained in the announcement of EU senior
representative for general policy and security policy Havier Solana.

"The election of a new president of Armenia is also a chance to
undertake steps for improvement of relations with neighbors. This
includes resumption of efforts for achievement of Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict resolution", the document says.

It is noted that the European Union supports efforts of the OSCE
Minsk Group and will provide necessary assistance to the conflict
resolution process.

Solana expressed satisfaction with the preliminary assessment of the
elections of Armenian President by the international mission of
observers, according to which, the elections were mostly in line
with OSCE standards. At the same time, he called on the powers to
investigate all violations, fixed during elections.

The EU senior representative also welcomed the activeness of voters,.
The European Union adheres to further strengthening of cooperation
with Armenia on basis of the European neighborhood policy, the
announcement says.

/Novosti-Armenia/

URL:

Eurasia Daily Monitor, DC
Feb 21 2008

KOSOVA AND THE `FROZEN’ CONFLICTS OF THE FORMER USSR

By Pavel Felgenhauer

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Rally in Abkhazia The leaders of the breakaway mini-states of
Transnistria in Moldova, Karabakh in Azerbaijan, as well as Abkhazia
and South Ossetia in Georgia welcomed Kosova’s unilateral declaration
of independence this week and its subsequent recognition by the
international community. At a joint press conference this week in
Moscow, the presidents of self-proclaimed South Ossetia and Abkhazia
Eduard Kokoiti and Sergei Bagapsh, announced they will `address
Russia, other CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries, and
international organizations to defend and approve our rights to
independence.’ The Transnistria foreign ministry issued a statement
announcing, `The declaration and consecutive recognition of Kosova
are of principal importance since they create a new model of conflict
settlement based on the priority of the right for self-determination’
(Interfax, February 18; RIA-Novosti, February 19).

Transnistria , Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Karabakh proclaimed their
sovereignty in the early 1990s as the USSR collapsed, but no
international actor has recognized them. Only Abkhazia is seeking
outright independence; Transnistria and South Ossetia have expressed
a desire to join Russia, while Karabakh wants to join Armenia. The
Abkhaz people still vividly remember the terrible massacre and ethnic
cleansing committed by Russian imperial troops and authorities in the
1860s and 1870s, which left 90% of the Abkhaz population either dead
or forced into permanent exile in Turkey and the Middle East. As the
Russian Empire completed the conquest of the North Caucasus in the
1860s and 1870s, some half a million Muslim Caucasian mountain people
were forcibly expelled to the Ottoman Empire. The Caucasian Black Sea
coast from Taman in the north to Sochi in the south was entirely
depopulated and resettled by Russians. The Abkhaz became a minority
in their own land.

Russian officials have strongly denounced Kosova’s independence and
have threatened retaliation without stating what it will be. It now
seems that Moscow’s reaction will be diplomatic and verbal. The
Kremlin will not use gas or oil supplies to Europe as a weapon, nor
will it use Kosovar independence as a pretext to immediately
recognize any of the self-proclaimed states.

Russia’s decision to not back its harsh words with action is not
surprising. Moscow never truly intended to use Kosovar independence
to somehow revenge Russia’s humiliation during the 1999 NATO bombing
of Yugoslavia that evicted Serbian troops from Kosova. Speaking at a
press conference in the Kremlin last week, President Vladimir Putin
announced, `We think that to support a unilateral declaration of
independence by Kosova is immoral and against the law.’ At the same
time Putin stated that if the West makes an `incorrect decision’ to
recognize Kosova’s independence, Russia will not do the same with
Abkhazia and the others, but will `ensure that our interests are
protected’ (, February 14).

Kremlin insiders have personal reasons to keep selling oil and gas to
the West at the highest possible volume and the best possible price.
Last week Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists that Russia
has no intention of imposing any sanctions whatsoever on the EU for
recognizing Kosova (Interfax, February 13).

The Kremlin unilaterally withdrew all Russian peacekeepers from
Yugoslavia in 2003 and has no intention to dispatch solders to the
Balkans to help the Serbs in any way. During a farewell press
conference in Moscow last month before going to Brussels as Russia’s
permanent representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin (see EDM, January
31) was asked by a Serbian journalist if Russia would, please, return
the several thousand solders it has the right to deploy in Kosova
under a 1999 agreement with the United States as part of a NATO-led
force to `defend the Serbs?’ Rogozin, the flamboyant anti-Western
nationalist politician turned diplomat, replied, `The withdrawal of
our troops from Kosova was a correct move, and I believe they must
not return. We are defending not Serbia, but international law. The
Serbs must defend themselves.’ It was clear that Rogozin was
expressing not just his personal opinion, but the Kremlin line as
well. Russia still has political and economic interests in the
Balkans, but military action in Kosova is a line it will not cross.

Russia’s future policy on Kosova will be to a large degree decided in
the coming months by the pace of Kosova’s international recognition.
There never was any internal unity within the Kremlin on the Kosova
issue. The Foreign Ministry swayed Putin to take a public stand to
defend `international law’ against U.S. jingoism. Russian UN
ambassador Vitaly Churkin has voiced the hope that the majority of UN
states will not support the Western position on Kosova (Itar-Tass,
February 18). If Churkin and the Foreign Ministry are proven wrong,
if Third World countries, both Muslim and non-Muslim, recognize
Kosova en masse, or if by the time Putin’s successor is inaugurated
in May there are over a hundred recognitions, Moscow’s position may
change. Standing up to the United States as a leader of the emerging
multipolar world is one thing, becoming isolated alongside Serbia is
another. It may be seen as an appropriate time for Dmitry Medvedev,
Putin’s heir apparent, to send a positive signal to the West at the
expense of Serb nationalists. Russia might, for example, decide not
to block Kosova’s admission to the UN and other international bodies.

The Kremlin would like to increase its influence within the
post-Soviet space, but that does not mean it particularly wants to
proceed by adding geographical tidbits like Transnistria or South
Ossetia to its imperial crown. Moscow wants much more, but, as with
the Kosova issue, the multiple views on how to achieve the goal
translate into frequently inconsistent policies.

Religious Intelligence Ltd, UK
Feb. 22, 2008

Turkey ruling helps Christians and Jews
Friday, 22nd February 2008. 4:01pm

By: George Conger.

TURKEY’S parliament has approved a law permitting Christian and
Jewish foundations to reclaim property seized by the state.

The proposed law will allow religious minorities to redeem a portion
of the £75 billion in property seized by the state in the wake of
political disturbances following the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus,
and meets some of the conditions set by the EU for Turkish membership
in the organization.

The law also will permit Muslim groups to receive financial support
>From overseas groups.

Nationalists denounced the vote as an affront to Turkish sovereignty,
while secularists fear the lifting of the ban on foreign money will
strengthen the growing Islamist movement in Turkey, with activists
now able to draw upon financial support from Saudi Arabia to further
their political ambitions.

The Feb 20 vote passed Parliament by a vote of 242-72 and is expected
to be signed into law by President Abdullah Gül, a political ally of
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning AKP
party.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn applauded the move saying `the
adoption of the new law on foundations is a welcome step forward.’

`This is an important issue for Turkey, and one that all EU
institutions have regularly highlighted as important to ensure
fundamental rights and freedoms for all Turkish citizens,’ he said.

However, Rehn said, "It is implementation that will be the test of
Turkey’s progress in ensuring rights and freedoms."

A similar law was passed by Parliament in November 2006, but was
vetoed by the secularist president Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

An Istanbul think tank, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation, (TESEV) noted Turkey’s entry into the EU would likely be
blocked if it did `not ensure the return or indemnification of the
seized assets of non-Muslim foundations.’

However TESEV’s analysis of the bill said it failed to address a host
of problems, including the issue of restitution, especially for a
number of properties that have been re-sold to a third party
following government expropriation. It also entrenches the legal
disabilities of non-Muslims under Turkish law, it concluded.

"The present text of the draft is not acceptable because it violates
the fundamental rights and liberties of non-Muslim citizens which are
guaranteed under the Turkish constitution, the European Convention on
Human Rights and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne," TESEV stated.

The bill also calls for the government to consider the `the
international principle of reciprocity’ before returning Church
lands, a reference to Turkish demands that the Greek government
liberalize its treatment of its Turkish minority.

A spokesman for the Armenian Patriarchate said that Church was uneasy
with the proposed law. `We are ethnic Armenians, but we are Turkish
citizens, we are not foreigners. So, applying the principle of
reciprocity to us would amount to discrimination,’ he said.

In 1974, the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargitay) ruled that
religious foundations cannot acquire property, unless this
possibility is specifically mentioned in the declarations they were
obliged to submit to the government in 1936.

Properties acquired by Christian Churches and Jewish organizations
after 1936, either through purchase or through donation, were
expropriated by the state. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
in 2007 adjudicated a case brought by an Istanbul Greek Orthodox
school in 1996, whose property—acquired in 1952—had been
nationalized by the state.

The ECHR ruled Turkey’s treatment of its Christian and Jewish
minorities’ property rights Article 1 of Additional Protocol 1 of the
European Convention On Human Rights (protection of property), and
called upon Turkey either to return the property to its legitimate
owners or pay damages. The Turkish government has so far not complied
as it is not bound by rulings of the ECHR.

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb. 23, 2008

Meeting Between Azerbaijani President, Newly Elected Armenian
President Before Elections in Azerbaijan in Interest of Both Sides –
EU Special Representative
23.02.08 10:41

France, Strasburg, 23 February / Trend News corr A. Maharramli / `I
think a meeting between the Azerbaijani President and the newly
elected President of Armenia before the elections in Azerbaijan is in
the interest of both sides. They should know each other better. I
hope the meeting will take place, the EU Special Representative for
the South Caucasus Peter Semneby told reporters in Strasburg.

Semneby said he is confident the election of a new President in
Armenia will give an impetus to development of the negotiations on
Nagorno-Karabakh. `I hope the sides will find a common language, and
the presidential elections in Armenian will enable intensification of
the talks. It is important to continue the negotiations during the
election processes which have already taken place in Armenia and will
take place in Azerbaijan in the second half of 2008.’

Touching upon the positive assessment of the European Parliament and
European Union regarding one-sided declaration of Kosovo’s
independence and prospects of the development of the settlement
process of the conflicts in South Caucasus, Semneby said that it
needs to follow the principles of the international law in settling
ethnic conflicts.

`As a matter of fact each conflict is unique. The existing conflicts
have more differences rather then conformity. It deals with the
conflicts in South Caucasus. The Kosovo problem has its own
specification and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has its own. The
issue that the conflict is difficult is beyond controversy. It is
clear that it needs to resolve it peacefully, through talks,’ he
said.

In addition, Semneby said that his visit is expected to the region in
the near future, but the date of the visit has not been confirmed
yet.

OPPOSITION HOLDS BIG RALLY IN ARMENIA, SEEKING RERUN OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

Associated Press
February 24th, 2008

YEREVAN, Armenia – Thousands of opposition supporters protested
in Armenia’s capital Sunday, demanding a rerun of the disputed
presidential vote and denouncing the detention of several allies in
their confrontation with the government.

More than 20,000 people protested for a fifth day in a central
square where the opposition has maintained a round-the-clock vigil,
and hundreds broke away to march through the streets in the early
evening. A tough warning from the outgoing president raised concerns
that police could seek to disperse the demonstrators.

Supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian claim Tuesday’s
election was rigged and are demanding a new vote. The government
says Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the presidency fairly and
has urged the protesters to disperse.

The standoff has raised concerns about potential violence in a poor
and volatile country that is strategically located at the junction of
the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia
and Iran nearby.

Announcing final election results Sunday that were in line with a
preliminary count, Central Election Commission chief Garegin Azarian
said Sarkisian, Kocharian’s favoured successor, received nearly 53
per cent of the vote in the country of 3.2 million – enough to win
outright and avoid a run-off.

He said Ter-Petrosian won 21.5 per cent. The opposition claims
that Ter-Petrosian won but that the vote was marred by vote-buying,
ballot-stuffing and violence.

A few officials have joined the opposition since the vote.

One of them, former deputy prosecutor General Gagik Dzhangirian, was
detained along with his brother and another man late Saturday, police
spokesman Sayat Shirinian said. An exchange of gunfire erupted when
officers blocked a highway to search the car they were travelling in,
Shirinian said.

Dzhangirian’s brother and two police officers were injured, police
said.

Kocharian on Saturday dismissed several Armenian diplomats who
expressed support for the opposition, including the ambassadors to
Italy and Kyrgyzstan and a deputy foreign minister.

RA PARLIAMENT RATIFIED AGREEMENT WITH OSCE YEREVAN OFFICE ON CREATION OF OSCE OFFICES IN COUNTRY’S REGIONS

arminfo
2008-02-25 15:49:00

ArmInfo. Today, RA Parliament ratified an additional protocol to the
Memorandum of mutual understanding between RA government and OSCE
Yerevan Office on creation of OSCE offices in the country’s regions.

As deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Gegham Gharibjanyan said,
the Memorandum was signed on September 15, 1999, based on which an
additional protocol was signed on June 5, 2006, according to which
OSCE Yerevan Office, in cooperation and consent with RA government,
cannot found its offices in the republic’s territory for implementation
of various programmes. G. Gharibjanyan exampled the work of OSCE Office
in RA Syunik region, where OSCE office was opened for implementation of
the programme of assistance to the local farmers. Such initiative is
welcomed by the republic’s executive power, as all the international
structures have been centered in the capital over the last years,
while the regions turned out to be somewhat aside.

Armenian deputy foreign minister and several diplomates dismissed from
their posts and deprived of diplomatic ranks

2008-02-24 11:23:00

ArmInfo. Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Bayburtyan and several
diplomates have been dismissed from their posts and deprived of
diplomatic ranks, Armenian Public TV reports.

To recall, A statement of a group of Armenian diplomats was read at a
rally of Levon Ter- Petrosyan’s supporters at Liberty Square, at 20:05
PM. It says that they support the people’s movement. Deputy Foreign
Minister Armen Bayburtyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Italy, Spain and
Portugal Ruben Shugaryan, Armenia’s ambassador to Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan Levon Khachatryan and representative of Armenia’s Embassy in
Ukraine and Moldova Razmik Khumaryan signed under the statement. They
are sure that the newly elected legitimate president of Armenia can
answer to the foreign policy challenges put against the country. The
statement also calls law-enforcement agencies to abstain from any force
actions against the people .

WHEN THE GOVERNMENT LACKS POLITICAL PERCEPTIONS
JAMES HAKOBYAN

Lragir
11:49:41 – 22/02/2008

Ostensibly, after the deputy ministers of defense Manvel Grigoryan and
Gagik Melkonyan have stated that they will not let the army interfere
with politics and have showed that together with the Yerkrapah Union of
Compatriots they are beside Levon Ter-Petrosyan, they will soon become
the target of the government propaganda. The television will probably
start displaying footages through which they will try to persuade how
bad the generals are, what things they have done. It is not ruled out
that they will voice doubt about the participation of Manvel Grigoryan
in the war in Karabakh and will recall that he used to be a truck
driver before the revolution.

However, in fact, it already does not matter what the government
propaganda says. The vivid evidence to it is that the permanent
negative reports about Levon Ter-Petrosyan and regular appearance of
the ghost of the past on television for three months were absolutely
helpless to prevent his popular rating from rising. Moreover, the
efforts of the government to denigrate Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his
supporters with a rude and disrespectful tone got his rating to rise.
In addition, in one of his rallies before the election Levon
Ter-Petrosyan confessed that he is thankful to God that he has such an
opponent government whose every action have his rating go up.

It is difficult to say what Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s rating would be if
the government did not try to blacken him, launch an attack of
one-sided propaganda, avoid displaying Ter-Petrosyan’s rallies, and
instead started a civilized, political, regular, peaceful debate with
him about the occurrence, development and solution of the problems in
the country. Certainly, it is beyond doubt that Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
rating went up thanks to his actions, his tactics, his political moves,
and the mistakes of the government simply favored him, helped him
because Levon Ter-Petrosyan skillfully made use of them. Generally, the
`secret’ of Ter-Petrosyan’s political success is that at least so far
he has been able to display one of the most important features of a
political figure, if not the most important one ` to make utmost use of
even unfavorable circumstances.

In politics – since it exists, it is a dynamic process inside – there
are no unfavorable circumstances at all. There are simply
circumstances, and the shrewdness and ability to assess and analyze the
reality soberly makes them favorable or unfavorable, and subsequently
they either suffer or benefit. Those who do not realize this, who do
not have this shrewdness and in politics are led by the rules of
wholesale or retail trade, at best if they do not suffer from the
circumstances they become circumstances.

Most probably these perceptions become the cornerstone of the political
situation. Their deepness has become the main motivation of the present
reality. However, it is obvious from the reaction of the government and
the rest of the political sphere to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s actions, it
already becomes absolutely inadequate. They continue to be driven by
the same perceptions. If before it used to be fair to some extent
because there were no landmarks, now the oldness of these perceptions
is not merely wrong for the political sphere but unforgivably wrong.
Perhaps the problem is not the oldness but the absence of political
perceptions. There are perceptions but calling them political would be
a compliment for our forces called political.