RA NSS confirmed information about detention of ‘New Times’ party
leader Aram Karapetyan
2008-02-24 17:13:00
ArmInfo. RA National Security Service confirmed the information about
detention of the "New Times" party leader Aram Karapetyan. As Head of
the NSS’s press-center Artsvin Baghramyan told ArmInfo, the information
about detention of the "New Times" party leader Aram Karapetyan by NSS
employees meets the reality.
LEVON TER-PETROSYAN SEEMS TO REPROACH THE WEST
Lragir
22:34:15 – 23/02/2008
The stance of the international observers on the Armenian presidential
election and particularly the re-count of votes, when the government
refuses to meet the demand of the opposition to re-count the votes in
300 polling stations allow the first president of Armenia Levon
Ter-Petrosyan to give a negative evaluation of the stance of the West.
At least, Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated February 23 at the Square of
Freedom that their stance allows him stating that the West is not
interested in democracy in Armenia, a democratic government,
intellectual government in Armenia because it does not want the
government of Armenia to talks to them on equal terms, but wants a weak
and servile government.
Levon Ter-Petrosyan said as a political figure, as the first president
and scientist he has the right to make such a statement because logic
prompts which stems from the stance of the international observers.
Levon Ter-Petrosyan apologized to the observers and the organizations
they represent for this evaluation but said the international
organizations which are for free expression of opinion should accept
his right for such an opinion.
MEDICAL SUPPLY FOR STEPANAKERT POLICLINIC DELIVERED
armradio.am
22.02.2008 15:27
The Armenia Fund 7 delivered equipment, office and hygiene items to
the Stepanakert Policlinic.
The supply worth $464.779, packed in 920 boxes, was passed over to
the Stepanakert Policlinic through the Ministry of Health of Nagorno
Karabakh.
The initiative is sponsored by the Armenia Fund USA Eastern Affiliate.
As a consequence of the Artsakh conflict, the country was
devastated, and there was a pressing need for an up-to-date healthcare
institution. Through its East Coast Affiliate the Armenia Fund launched
on construction of Stepanakert Policlinic. In March 2006, a modern
building, equipped with a diagnostic center and necessary facilities
was in place. To ensure adequate medical service, the Fund also held
in-service medical staff and administrative personnel trainings.
"The necessary maintenance work in the policlinic is limited to
replacing door handles and broken glasses," the newly appointed
Executive Director Karine Atayan told the Fund working group visiting
the policlinic within the Project Condition Survey of the Armenia
Fund projects for 2002-2007. The visit coincided with the bothersome
time of lack of running water from the external network, but that had
not affected the hygiene and sanitary conditions of the clinic; the
management made sure that the policlinic water tanks were regularly
stocked up with water necessary to take care of the policlinic’s needs.
According to Ms. Atayan, as of December 2007, 83,815 people underwent
general therapeutic treatment, 24,228 were screened and examined,
and 26,492 had laboratory tests. "I believe good conditions in a
medical institution are vital to the recovery of patients. It is more
important though, that the Karabakh residents feel confident about
the healthcare service in their country. With this in mind the Fund
also embarked on the renovation of the Hadrut Regional Hospital which
is to be completed in mid 2008," said Vahe Aghabegians, the executive
director of the Armenia Fund.
RUSSIAN ENERGY TIES WITH IRAN SEND U.S. A MESSAGE
Reuters
Friday, February 22, 2008
DUBAI/MOSCOW (Reuters) – As the United States warns the world away
from business with Tehran, Moscow’s tightening ties to Iran’s energy
sector underline Russia’s differences with Washington over Iranian
nuclear plans and Kosovo’s independence.
While the timing of Moscow’s announcement on Tuesday may have been
political, the deal for Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom
to take on big new Iranian oil and gas projects was a long time in the
making and dovetails with Gazprom’s strategic ambitions, analysts said.
Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas producer, will play a larger role
in developing Iran’s giant South Pars gas field and will also drill
for oil.
"The Russian government and the United States are at loggerheads over
how to engage with Iran, with Russia actively favouring a more open
relationship," said Ronald Smith, chief strategist at Alfa Bank. "This
makes Gazprom rather indifferent to American policy wishes."
The U.S. accuses Iran of using uranium enrichment to develop weapons,
while Tehran says it needs nuclear power. Russia has been reluctant
to impose more U.N. sanctions on Iran.
Despite voicing its own concerns about Tehran’s ambitions, Moscow is
building Iran’s first nuclear power plant and has supplied the fuel
it will use.
Russia opposes Kosovo’s split from Serbia, which the U.S. has backed.
Despite growing clout on the world stage, Moscow has proved powerless
to prevent Kosovo announcing its independence this week.
"There is probably a political element given what happened last week
in Kosovo," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib bank.
"I would say this investment is in keeping with Gazprom’s declared
position to become as global as possible but the timing of the
announcement clearly has a political message as well."
FILLING THE VOID
Gazprom is advancing in Iran while U.S. political pressure has delayed
progress on gas projects by European companies such as Total and Royal
Dutch Shell and led to some European banks pulling their financing
for Iranian oil deals.
With European and U.S. companies out of the competition, Gazprom
has an edge as it bids for a bigger role in developing the world’s
second-largest gas reserves after Russia’s own.
"The Russians know full well that they are at a disadvantage in terms
of the quality of their technology compared to the West under normal
circumstances," said Ali Rashidi, a university economics professor
in Iran.
"Under conditions that Iran cannot attract real rather than token
Western foreign investment, the Russians are in an ideal situation
to fill the void."
Gazprom may also have been able to negotiate better terms due to
the lack of competition and Iran’s eagerness to press ahead with
development despite U.N. and U.S. sanctions, Rashidi said.
Strategically, a tie-up between Moscow and Tehran makes sense,
analysts said. Gazprom’s major market is Europe, which would also be
the likely destination for much of Iran’s future production. Gazprom
supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas needs.
The deal with Iran will do little to help Gazprom’s ambition to boost
its presence in the United States.
But for now, it’s exposure there is small, analysts said. That,
and Europe’s dependence on Gazprom, would limit the effectiveness
of any reprisal action from the United States, said Teymur Huseynov,
head of the Eurasia department at risk consultancy Exclusive Analysis.
"Gazprom’s vulnerability to U.S. sanctions is minimal," Huseynov
said. "And if you put sanctions on Gazprom you are basically
threatening Europe’s energy security and that would strain the
relationship with Europe and the United States."
Increased coordination between the two countries on investment
policy and pricing would also boost the chances of the formation of
a gas producers’ group resembling the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), Huseynov said.
Iran has called on Russia to set up such a group, which has caused
jitters in top customers and politicians in Europe.
Gazprom could also help Iran develop its pipeline system, potentially
linking the north of the country to fields in the south, Huseynov
added.
That would lessen dependency on gas imported from Turkmenistan, which
angered Tehran when it cut off gas supplies at the end of December.
The Russian gas export monopoly owns all the gas pipelines in Armenia,
to which Iran has recently completed a new export pipeline. Gazprom
will operate the section of that pipeline in Armenia.
Gazprom has been involved in Iran for years and invested about $4
billion in the country between 2000-2007, said Huseynov. It was
involved in an earlier phase of development at South Pars with Total
and Malaysia’s Petronas.
BABACAN: TURKEY STANDS FOR "RETURN OF KARABAKH TO AZERBAIJAN"
PanARMENIAN.Net
21.02.2008 14:28 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey stands for return of Nagrono Karabakh to
Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in Moscow at
a joint news conference with Sergei Lavrov.
"Our country repeatedly spoke about the necessity to resolve frozen
conflicts in the South Caucasus. We support the UN Resolutions on
the issue and stand for liberation of seized territories," he said,
RIA Novosti reports.
The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Group,
represented by Russia, France and the U.S. Armenia insists in a
package resolution of the conflict while Azerbaijan prefers a stepwise
resolution which supposes return of territories to Azerbaijan, return
of Azeri refugees and only then talks on Karabakh’s status.
VAZGEN MANUKIAN: "THE ORGANIZERS OF THE GIVEN STRUGGLE AIM AT OBTAINING POWER AT ANY PRICE ON THE WAVE OF HATRED"
Mediamax
February 22, 2008
Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian presidential candidate, Leader of
the National-Democratic Union (NDU) Vazgen Manukian addressed his
electors today, "the number of which is far higher than the official
data state".
Mediamax reports that the statement of Vazgen Manukian, in particular,
reads:
"The anti-national system, the bases of which were established in
1995, once again held elections with violations very familiar to us
(the volume and the possibility of proving which are being examined
by us). Today, the establishers of the given defective system have
announced an irreconcilable war to the people, who use the given
system, and many individuals, who honestly think that this is a
struggle for the future of the country, are also involved in that
war. I believe that the organizers of the given struggle aim at
obtaining the power at any price on the wave of hatred. This war will
benefit neither our state, nor our people".
NDU Leader urged the people, who strive to reach freedom and justice,
not to give up.
"Our struggle is yet ahead, and we are full of determination to change
the conscience of the society towards the real national and all-human
values. Only in that case it will become possible to build new Armenia,
based on national and democratic principles", the statement of Vazgen
Manukian reads.
According to the preliminary data of CEC, Vazgen Manukian gained 0.7%
of the electors’ votes in the presidential elections of February 19.
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION DEMANDS RE-ELECTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.02.2008 16:07 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian opposition announced that it doesn’t
recognize the results of the presidential election and urged a
re-election.
"The team of Armenia’s first President doesn’t recognize the outcomes
of the election," Impeachment bloc leader Nikol Pashinyan said
Wednesday at an opposition rally.
"Grave violations, violence and psychological pressure were fixed
during the election process. We demand a new election. The struggle
will continue," he said.
He said the opposition is going to carry out the struggle till final
victory.
According to various sources, from 10 to 50 thousand of people are
participating the rally.
EUROPEAN OBSERVERS DO NOT RULE OUT POSSIBILITY OF RECALCULATION OF VOTES
arminfo
2008-02-20 18:30:00
ArmInfo. European observers do not rule out possibility of recount of
votes over the presidential election in Armenia, OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly Vice-President Anne-Marie Lizine, leading OSCE PA Monitoring
Mission, said at the press-conference in Yerevan today.
‘Recount of votes is possible if needed. Some our colleagues were
witnesses of several negative cases at ballot stations, but they are
just observers, but those who are responsible for the process may
initiate recount of votes’, -Anne-Marie Lizine said and added that
they could apply for recount of votes till 14:00 PM local time, on 20
February. She also said that observers do not comment on the voting
result but observe and comment on the election process itself. ‘We
are not competent to comment on the election results, we appeal only
to the facts we have’, – she emphasized.
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION TO PROTEST OVER VOTE RESULT
By Hasmik Lazarian and Margarita Antidze
Reuters
02/19/08
YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan won
a presidential election on Tuesday, an exit poll showed, but his
opponents said the vote had been rigged and called their supporters
onto the streets to protest.
Sarksyan, who has said he will continue the policies of outgoing
President Robert Kocharyan, won 57 percent of the vote, the exit
poll showed.
Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, first president of Armenia
after it won independence from the Soviet Union, scored 17 percent,
according to the poll by Britain’s Populus pollster carried out for
Armenian public television.
But Ter-Petrosyan’s aides said he was the real winner and announced
a protest rally in the capital Yerevan on Wednesday.
"The first president of Armenia won in the first round. We would like
to congratulate citizens with that victory," said Ter-Petrosyan’s
spokesman Arman Musinyan.
"There were very serious violations during voting, including
ballot-stuffing, kidnapping and the beating of our representatives
at the polling stations," he said.
Land-locked Armenia relies heavily on an alliance with Moscow and
remains poor despite swift recent economic growth.
High in the Caucasus mountains, it is squeezed between Turkey and
Azerbaijan in a region that is emerging as an important transit route
for oil exports from the Caspian Sea to world markets.
Analysts warn that a still-unresolved conflict with neighboring
Azerbaijan over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh could
flare up again into violence.
Stalled efforts to reach a peace deal are likely to be the biggest
challenge facing the new president.
If the exit poll is matched by official results, Sarksyan will have
enough votes to win outright without a second round runoff.
Voting returns were trickling in from polling stations around the
country of 3.2 million people perched high in the Caucasus mountains.
With an estimated 20 percent of the vote counted, central election
commission figures gave Sarksyan 193,921 votes, with Ter-Petrosyan
lagging far behind with 52,548 votes.
Election officials did not say what share of the votes cast this
represented or exactly what proportion of the vote had been counted
FREE AND FAIR?
Sarksyan, after voting in Yerevan, said the priority was for Armenia
to conduct a free and fair election. His campaign team said late
on Tuesday they were waiting for definitive official results before
making a statement.
Previous elections in Armenia have been followed by days of opposition
protests alleging ballot fraud. A new round of protests will be a
test for stability in a country which, in the 1990s, was rocked by
political convulsions.
Election observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe will give their verdict on the vote on Wednesday. Their
assessment is likely to be a key factor in whether the opposition
protests build momentum.
Kocharyan, 53, is barred by the constitution from serving a third
consecutive term. He is expected to remain influential but has refused
to disclose what role he wants until his replacement is inaugurated.
He and Sarksyan, both natives of Nagorno-Karabakh and veterans
of its 1990s war with Azerbaijan, are credited with overseeing a
period of double-digit economic growth after economic meltdown under
Ter-Petrosyan.
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
122 W. 27th St. Floor 12
New York, NY 10001
Tel. (917) 428-1918
Email [email protected] <[email protected]>
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
February 19, 2008
Contact: Karine Birazian
Tel: (917) 428-1918
ANCA & SONY BMG ENTERTAINMENT TO HOST "SCREAMERS" DVD RELEASE
LAUNCH PARTY
— System of A Down Lead Singer Serj Tankian; Director Carla
Garapedian Headline February 19th New York Reception
NEW YORK, NY – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has teamed with Sony BMG Entertainment in hosting an inaugural
reception for the DVD release of "Screamers," an award-winning,
internationally produced documentary that details the history of
modern-day genocide beginning with the Armenian Genocide in 1915,
traveling through the Holocaust era, exploring what happened in
Rwanda and other countries and ends with the genocide currently
happening in Darfur.
The February 19th invitation-only media event will feature Grammy
award winning System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian, SCREAMERS
director Carla Garapedian along with a host of anti-genocide
advocates committed to ending the cycle of genocide.
"The ANCA is proud to be joining once again with Serj, Carla and
SONY BMG Entertainment for the SCREAMERS DVD launch event in New
York," stated ANCA Eastern Region Director Karine Birazian.
"Throughout its international tour, SCREAMERS has inspired human
rights activists worldwide to take action against genocide. Now,
with the DVD release, SCREAMERS will reach an even wider audience,
serving as a powerful educational tool in the ongoing campaign to
end the cycle of genocide."
"I think this is an important film," explained Tankian. "It’s not
just about System, it is about the denial of genocide, the common
denominator of all genocides, how they get away with it. It is
about the hypocrisy of denial."
In conjunction with the DVD release, the ANCA will be launching its
"Take SCREAMERS to School" program, encouraging Armenian Americans
and human rights advocates across the U.S. to donate the
documentary to schools, libraries and community groups, in addition
to adding it to their own DVD collections, in an effort to expand
anti-genocide awareness nationwide. Copies of the SCREAMERS DVD,
which include classroom appropriate versions of the film along with
a host of special features, are available at Amazon.com, Best Buy
and other major retailers. Genocide education curricula are
available on the SCREAMERS movie website – –
– which highlights online resources from the Genocide Education
Project and Facing History, among other groups.
‘SCREAMERS’ is a production of MG2 productions in association with
BBC Television and The Raffy Manoukian Charity. Award winning
director Carla Garapedian, a veteran reporter who has made a career
of covering the most difficult stories, from Chechnya to repression
in Afghanistan, follows the European tour of "System Of A Down" and
their ongoing efforts, through music and activism, to raise
awareness about denial of the Armenian Genocide and its legacy of a
century of atrocities culminating in the ongoing genocide in
Darfur. The film was distributed by Maya Entertainment, debuting at
the American Film Institute (AFI) Film Festival in November, 2006,
where it won the coveted AFI Audience Award.
"SCREAMERS busts wide-open the hypocrisy of politicians and
governments who have misleadingly vowed ‘never again.’ This film
reminds us that we, as individuals, can make a difference. We can,
as Serj says, all be screamers."
The ANCA teamed up with Save Darfur and the Raffy Manoukian Charity
in bringing SCREAMERS to a Congressional audience in January 2007
and once again in October 2008, with the participation of
Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsor Adam Schiff
(D-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-
NJ).