Author: Andres-Papazian

ARMENIAN POGROMS COMMEMORATED AT U.S. CONGRESS

news.am
March 1 2011
Armenia

The Armenian Embassy in the United States, in cooperation with the
U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, Representative Office of
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA) organized an official event on the occasion of the 23rd
anniversary of the Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and Baku, Azerbaijan.

The press service of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed
Armenian News-NEWS.am that the function was attended by U.S.

Congressmen, Armenian clergymen and Armenians residing in the U.S. A
documentary on Armenian massacres in Sumgait and Baku was shown.

Frank Pallone, Chairman of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues denounced the Armenian massacres and designated them as
genocide. He called on U.S. Congressmen to continue supporting Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh.

NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosyan pointed out that Armenian
massacres in Kirovabad, Shahumyan and Marag would have been prevented
if the Sumgait pogroms had been condemned.

Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Tatul Margaryan stressed that the
combined efforts of the U.S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues,
Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh officials are the best guarantee against
distortion of historical facts by Azerbaijan.

The U.S. Congressmen that attended the function denounced the Armenian
pogroms as well.

February 27 to 29, 1988, in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, Armenian pogroms
took place with the connivance of the Azerbaijani authorities. Over
30 Armenians were murdered and thousands had to flee. The Armenian
pogroms are a taboo subject in Azerbaijan.

From: A. Papazian

SPEECH BY LEVON TER-PETROSYAN

“A1+”
01 March 2011

Dear fellow Armenians,

Instead of a speech, I suggest accepting the following statement:

“Registering that Armenia’s current bandit regime seized power through
falsified parliamentary and presidential elections and the bloody
crime committed on 1 March 2008,

-has ruled the country by systematically setting limits on the
freedom of speech, press and rallies and brutally violating human
and civil rights,

-has caused a severe blow to the Armenian nation’s dignity by
agreeing with the creation of a commission of Armenian and Turkish
historians calling into question the Armenian Genocide and adopting
the anti-constitutional law on establishing foreign language schools
in Armenia,

-has practically aborted the opportunity for a pro-Armenian solution
to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue through negotiations and has led the
conflict to a pre-war state as a result of disgraceful and unprincipled
policies,

–has cynically and persistently disturbed the revelation of murders
committed by the army and the police on 1 March 2008,

-is involved in continuously setting limits on small and medium
businesses and creating new difficulties for the socially
disadvantaged,

-has created an atmosphere of permissibility, impunity, widespread
theft, dominance of monopolists and insolence, which has increased
emigration to a devastating number,

-has led the majority of the people to extreme poverty and has deprived
them of the opportunity to not only live a dignified and more or less
good life, but the hope and perspective of reaching that,

-and finally, taking into consideration that the regime is not only
unprepared, but also incapable of taking any positive step toward
improving the social-economic state, establishing democracy and
legality and solving foreign policy issues, which is the proof of
its decline,

THE RALLY ORGANIZED BY THE ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS DEMANDS THAT

1. Before March 15, that is, before the visit of the Council of Europe
Co-Rapporteurs on Armenia, release all political prisoners sentenced
for their political views and activities, 2. Create an independent
international commission to study the events of March 1 or reinstate
the Fact-Finding Group by replenishing it with international experts
and set the objective of fully revealing and punishing all the
culprits of that monstrous crime 3. Compensate the material damage
of all citizens who suffered from the events of March 1, 4. Put
an end to the police’s warnings and threats to keep citizens far
from rallies and political activities, 5. Fulfill the indisputable
verdict of the European Court and reinstate the activities of “A1+”
television, bring all acting individuals violating that verdict
to justice and eliminate government control over all online media
6. Put an end to the authorities’ belligerent rhetoric and reinstate
the previous format of negotiations in order to get the process of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution back on track, 7. Declare
the infamous decisions on the prohibition of open-air street trade,
terminating the activities of small stores after 8 p.m.

and the compulsory car insurance, 8. Eliminate the illegal levying of
the Value Added Tax for cars imported for personal use (and not for
sale), 9. Convert the minimum salary in Armenia to 200 dollars and
the unemployment benefit to 50% of that (100 dollars) and convert
the average pension to 40% of the average salary (112 dollars),
10.Remove the draft law put up for discussion by the proposal of
reformulating Article 142 of the RA Labor Code from the National
Assembly’s agenda according to which the issue of setting a 6-day
working schedule is reserved for the employer, 11.Set state subsidies
for producing the most important products by taking into consideration
the market price of production and the strategic importance of lands
located on the bordering regions, 12. Provide inventories and press
releases regarding the properties and incomes of the previous and
current highest ranking state officials and their families, starting
from the presidents, prime ministers, ministers, deputy ministers,
governors, mayors and ending with the judges, prosecutors, generals
and deputies of the National Assembly (formerly the Supreme Council),
13. Dismiss Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Deputy Prime Minister
Armen Gevorgyan, Head of the Central Bank Artur Javadyan, Head of
the State Revenue Committee Gagik Khachatryan, Mayor of Yerevan
Karen Karapetyan, RA Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, Head of
the National Security Service Gorik Hakobyan, RA Chief of Police
Alik Sargsyan, Head of the RA Special Investigative Service Andranik
Mirzoyan and Head of the Penitentiary Department at the RA Ministry of
Justice Hayk Harutyunyan for humiliating flaws in economic management
and ensuring legality, 14. The rally also deems it necessary to call
on international organizations, as well as the United States and the
European Union-member countries to put an end to the unreserved support
to Armenia’s dictatorial regime based on geopolitical considerations,
which not only hurts the implementation of democratic reforms, but
further strengthens the regime’s positions, 15. If the mentioned
demands or a large part of them are fulfilled, the rally authorizes
the Armenian National Congress to initiate practical dialogue with
the authorities and place the special presidential and parliamentary
elections as the only issue on the agenda in the upcoming months.”

As to how this declaration will proceed and what the authorities’
response will be, we will discuss that and give adequate conclusions
during our next rally to be held on March 17.

I think it is needless to explain that this is not just a political
declaration, but a milestone-plan for the current pan-national
struggle, which the members of the Congress and all participants of
the massive events are obliged to follow, knowing that success is
highly dependent on the discipline of our members and supporters. With
that said, from this day forth, the rallies of the Armenian National
Congress go from being political actions to a unique forum for social
self-government with the full-fledged competency to make decisions
and act.

“I don’t believe there is any eyewitness who wasn’t standing by the
people who were killed on March 1, 2008,” Artsvik Minasyan told.

From: A. Papazian

HOVIK’S RELATIVE APPOINTED

Lragir.am

Short time ago, Chief of Police of Armenia, Alik Sargsyan, signed an
order on the appointment of Arsen Abrahamyan Head of Ararat Police
regional department, photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan reported.

By the way, Arsen Abrahamyan resigned from the office of the Head of
Nor Nork Police department a couple of months ago. He is a relative
of the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH FOREIGN MINISTER AT CONGRESSIONAL COMMEMORATION OF SUMGAIT AND BAKU MASSACRES

asbarez
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Karabakh Foreign Minister Georgi Petrossian

WASHINGTON-Nagorno Karabakh Republic Foreign Minister Georgi Petrossian
joined with members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus Monday evening
at a Capitol Hill remembrance honoring the victims of the Azerbaijani
pogroms in Sumgait and Baku, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America.

“In marking this solemn occasion, we are reminded of the terrible
costs of Azerbaijan’s aggression for all the peoples of the region. We
draw from this remembrance an added measure of devotion to defending
the hard-earned liberty enjoyed today by the free citizens of
the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. “Sadly, the Aliyev neo-monarchy running Azerbaijan shares
neither our commitment to peace nor our devotion to democracy, and
– with little protest from the U.S. government – has openly opted
-through its vast military build-up, threatening and hateful rhetoric,
and outright acts of aggression – for a path toward renewed war.”

Representatives Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Elliot
Engel (D-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) joined in commemorating the
Azerbaijani attacks against Armenians in Sumgait in 1988 and Baku in
1990, which set the stage for over two decades of Azerbaijani violence
against Armenia and Karabakh. Rep. Engel explained that “Whether it is
massacres in Sumgait or Baku or any place else, or whether it is the
Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire, it’s something
that we have to always remember and always recall and never forget it
and teach it to our children and teach it to our children’s children
– so that things like this will never happen again and tyrants will
know that we can’t sweep things like this under the rug.”

Rep. Frank Pallone Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone
concurred, noting that “those who say that somehow not talking about
the Genocide is a good thing need to be reminded that it is not in
the past for Armenians and it is not in the past for the victims of
genocide.” Rep.

Eshoo focused on the important role Armenian Americans play in ensuring
not only that the Sumgait and Baku pogroms are not forgotten but in
securing a strong U.S.-Armenia relationship. “We have our work cut
out for us in Congress – and that work is to ensure that Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh maintain our full and robust support. That is
something that is not a given. We have to fight for that. We have to
earn that support. We have a lot of new members of Congress now and
they need to be educated as well. That means keeping the pressure on
Azerbaijan through the Freedom Support Act, even as two presidents
have waived that.”

Foreign Minister Petrossian, noting that he wished he could address
attendees on a happier occasion than one marking the tragedies of
Sumgait, Baku and Maragha, stated, “On February 20, 1988, the people
of Karabakh expressed their will, and utilizing the relevant legal
framework, petitioned the Soviet authorities of the time to resolve
the Karabakh issue. The events in Sumgait took place exactly eight
days later. To this day, Azerbaijan argues that Sumgait and Baku were
a chapter in their struggle for independence from the Soviet Union
and that Armenians were somehow hindering that effort. The Bible
says that there is no secret which can be hidden permanently, and God
willing, the truth and the perpetrators of these heinous crimes will
one day be brought to light and justice.” The Foreign Minister went
on to explain that the Sumgait massacres were the beginnings of broad
ethnic cleansing efforts in Azerbaijan that the Azerbaijani government
intended to extend to Karabakh as well. “Every person, every nation,
has the right to live free; every person, every nation has the right
to defend itself,” noted Petrossian. “The people of Karabakh asserted
that right – that God-given right – and will never give it up.”

Earlier in the day, Minister Petrossian had an opportunity to meet
with regional experts at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), where he discussed the current status of the Karabakh
peace process.

Representatives Anna Eshoo and John Engel In his remarks, Armenian
Ambassador Tatoul Markarian decried Azerbaijani Government efforts
to subvert the truth regarding the massacres in Sumgait and Baku –
spending millions internationally to advance their distorted view of
history. “Inspired by oil revenues, exploiting our constructiveness,
our focus on negotiations, the Azeris have unleashed an entire
propaganda war, trying to buy international loyalty, revise history
and create a favorable atmosphere for themselves,” noted Markarian,
who pledged increased efforts worldwide to bring the truth to light
about the Azerbaijani crimes against the Armenian people.

Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, Diocesan Legate of the Eastern Diocese
of the Armenian Church of North America, thanked the Congressional
organizers of the event and offered a closing prayer.

Participants viewed a moving video presentation detailing the events
of the Sumgait pogroms at the beginning of the program, which was
organized by the Congressional Armenian Caucus, in cooperation with
the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, Office of the Nagorno Karabakh
Representative in the U.S., along with the Armenian National Committee
of America and the Armenian Assembly of America.

Days earlier, the Greater Washington DC area Armenian Youth Federation
had teamed up with the St. Mary’s Armenian Church Youth Organization
in holding a protest in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in memory
of the victims of Sumgait and Baku pogroms and calling attention
to Azerbaijan’s ongoing threats and aggression against Armenia and
Karabakh. Similar protests and vigils have been held in capitals
around the world including Ottawa, Athens, Moscow, Armenia, and the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic, among others.

On the evening of February 27, 1988, a three-day rampage against
Armenian civilians living in Sumgait, Soviet Azerbaijan began.

Armenian civilians, whose calls for help from police were ignored,
were at the mercy of Azerbaijani rioters, who murdered, raped, and
maimed Armenians, throwing women and children from windows and burning
victims alive, as Azerbaijani authorities watched for three days,
even though the capital Baku was only a half hour away. Reports from
the Financial Times and New York Times noted Armenians being “hunted”
down and killed in their homes. A review of the events of Sumgait
and Baku massacres, as well as the U.S. response, is available on
the ANCA fact sheet.

Video and photos from the event are posted on the ANCA website

From: A. Papazian

PARLIAMENT TO CONVENE HEARINGS ON SETTING UP AD HOC COMMISSION TO LOOK INTO GAS PRICING MECHANISM

ARKA
March 1, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, March 1, /ARKA/. Vahan Hovhanesian, a parliament member
from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation/Dashnaktsutyun faction,
who made a motion today to set up an ad hoc commission to make a
probe of how the national natural gas system works, said hearings
on the motion will be held in the parliament prior to March 21,
when the next session may put it to vote.

He said the parliament speaker and head of a standing committee on
economic issues also agreed to convene the hearings and look into
the expediency of setting up an ad hoc commission.

Vahan Hovhanesian said not only representatives of ArmRosGazprom
natural gas operator, but also government members responsible for
determining gas price will be invited to attend the hearing.

He said the hearings and setting up an ad hoc commission would benefit
all and today’s discussion of the problem showed that parliament
members realize its importance.

Armenian and Russian presidents agreed last Friday that the price
of natural gas in Armenia this year will not rise after they met in
Russian Saint Petersburg.

Russian Gazprom that holds more than 80% in Armenia’s national
gas operator ArmRosGazprom, raised the cost of gas for Armenia by
14 percent in 2009 and by another 17 percent in 2010 April to $180
per thousand cubic meters. Following it the Armenian Pubic Services
Regulatory Commission (PSRC) approved a 37.5 percent surge in the
gas price for households requested by ArmRosGazprom. Last September
Gazprom said it would gradually bring its gas tariffs for Armenia,
Moldova and Belarus up to “market-based” international levels in
the coming years. Gazprom currently sells gas to western and Central
European countries for over $300 per thousand cubic meters.

From: A. Papazian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC’S POPULATION EARN AMD 96.9 BILLION IN INCOMES IN 2010

ARKA
March 1, 2011
STEPANAKERT

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s population earned AMD 96.9 billion in
incomes in 2010 and spent AMD 98.7 billion, Manush Minasyan, head
of Karabakh’s national statistical agency, said Tuesday at a news
conference in Stepanakert.

She said that people’s income grew 9.7% and expenses 11.8% in 2010,
compared with 2009.

“Analysis of the structure of the people’s income shows that its
biggest share, 57.7%, came as earnings in 2010 against 58.7% in 2009,”
Minasyan said.

Karabakh’s population spent AMD 94.3 billion (94.4%) for shopping
and for services. Mandatory pays took AMD 4.9 billion from people,
and voluntary pays amounted to AMD 4.9 billion.

From: A. Papazian

DASHNAKTSUTYUN SUGGESTS SETTING UP AD HOC COMMISSION TO LOOK INTO NATURAL GAS PRICING

ARKA
March 1, 2011
YEREVAN

A parliament member from the oppositional Armenian Revolutionary
Federation/Dashnaktsutyun (ARF) called today for setting up an
ad hoc commission to make a probe of the country’s natural gas
system. Addressing his parliament fellows Vahan Hovhanesian said the
issue has become a pressing problem.

‘The ARF faction had asked the government to provide it with answers
to a set of written questions, regarding the natural gas system,
but the answers did not satisfy us. This is why we believe that an
ad hoc parliamentary commission is needed to make an in-depth look
into the issue,’ he said.

He said also the faction’s request that the government make an analysis
of the sector because parliament members are not obliged to possess
specific relating information was ignored.

He said the sector is dominated by one company and in this case natural
gas deliveries and distribution must be governed by a special law that
does not exist. He also argued that the findings of the commission
would be useful to allow to gauge the impact of the monopoly on gas
pricing. He said the proposed ad hoc commission would also have to
develop fair pricing proposals.

‘Huge investments have ben made in connecting households and
enterprises to the network and gas is available even to households,
which have no money to pay for it, but the fact is that the cost of
delivering gas from Siberia to Armenia is as much as bringing it from
Armenia’s border to end users,’ he said.

According to calculations, the retail price paid by Armenian households
is as much as $387 per thousand cubic meters.

A spokesman for Armenian president said last week the price of
natural gas in Armenia this year will not rise. The announcement came
after Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan discussed the issue with his
Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. The issue reportedly featured
large during their talks in Saint Petersburg last Friday.

The spokesman, Armen Arzumanian, told journalists after the talks
that Sarkisian and Medvedev reached agreement on the price, but he
gave no details of that agreement, saying only that Armenian consumers
will not be paying more for Russian gas at least until next year.

Arzumanian also said that the gas price for socially vulnerable
categories of the population will be lowered in 2011. He said the
president has instructed the government to work out “appropriate
mechanisms” for ensuring the discount. The proposal would be put to
vote during the next session of the parliament on March 21-24.

Russian Gazprom that holds more than 80% in Armenia’s national
gas operator ArmRosGazprom, raised the cost of gas for Armenia by
14 percent in 2009 and by another 17 percent in 2010 April to $180
per thousand cubic meters. Following it the Armenian Pubic Services
Regulatory Commission (PSRC) approved a 37.5 percent surge in the
gas price for households requested by ArmRosGazprom. Last September
Gazprom said it would gradually bring its gas tariffs for Armenia,
Moldova and Belarus up to “market-based” international levels in
the coming years. Gazprom currently sells gas to western and Central
European countries for over $300 per thousand cubic meters.

From: A. Papazian

PARTICIPANTS IN OPPOSITION’S PROCESSION PAY A TRIBUTE TO MEMORY OF 1 MARCH 2008 VICTIMS BY LAYING FLOWERS AT MONUMENT TO MYASNIKYAN

arminfo
Tuesday, March 1, 20:40

The participants in the procession organized by the oppositional
Armenian National Congress (ANC) paid their tribute to the memory of
1 March 2008 victims by laying flowers at the Monument to Myasnikyan.

AmInfo correspondent reports that at the moment the protesters are near
the Monument to Myasnikyan, where the tragic developments took place 3
years ago. Meanwhile, when commenting on the statements, according to
which the police detained several supporters of the ANC, Coordinator
of ANC Levon Zurabyan said that he possessed no such information.

The next rally will take place Mar 17. According to the opposition,
over 50,000 people took part in the rally. The police say 9,000-10,000.

07:00 PM the Armenian National Congress started a procession. Several
thousands of people led by ANC leaders marched along Mashtots Avenue
demanding the Armenian President’s resignation.

To recall, the Armenian opposition headed by the first president of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan held rallies in the center of Yerevan
starting 20 Feb 2008 and expressed discontent with the voting results.

On March 1 the protest actions turned into disorders and clashes
between the protesters and law-enforcers. As a result, 10 people died,
over 200 were injured. The reasons of the tragedy and the culprits
have not been detected yet. After the March tragedy dozens of people
were arrested on charge of the mass disorders, 9 of them are still
in prison.

The Armenian National Congress headed by the first president of
Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan was set up on 1 August 2008. The ANC
includes about 20 political parties and organizations. The main
demands of the ANC are: releasing the political prisoners; restoring
the constitutional rights of the citizens; holding snap parliamentary
and presidential elections.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN MP CALLS ON OPPOSITION NOT TO FOLLOW ARABS’ EXAMPLE

arminfo
Tuesday, March 1, 20:10

The destabilization of the domestic political situation in Armenia
alongside with foreign challenges may have quite sad consequences,
independent Armenian MP Viktor Dallakyan said in parliament on Tuesday.

He thinks that the force centers of the world played a big role in the
latest developments in the Arab world, and the main reason of this
interference is the oil of Middle East. As regards the situation in
our country, the MP is sure that it is beneficial for not a single
political force in Armenia to assume the function of a performer of
external orders.

“I think there is an institutional opposition in the country, which
has enough patriotism not to instigate the people against stability
and our statehood”, he said.

Dallakyan thinks that first of all the Armenian authorities should
solve the existing socio-economic problems to exclude any possible
outbreak of social rebellion.

From: A. Papazian

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN ADVOCATES PUBLISHING IN PRESS THE LIST OF PROPERTY AND REVENUES OF PERSONS THAT HAVE EVER OCCUPIED STATE POSITIONS

arminfo
Tuesday, March 1, 20:28

“I advocate publishing in the mass media the list of property and
revenues of persons that have ever occupied state positions, starting
from the president and ending with judges and parliamentarians. I
also mean myself and my family”, said the first president of Armenia,
leader of the Armenian National Congress Levon Ter-Petrosyan at
today’s rally in Yerevan.

“Today we unanimously make a statement containing 15 requirements of
the protesting forces to the authorities”, he said. In particular,
the protesters demand releasing all the political prisoners before
March 15; restore the activity of the fact-finding group; paying
compensations to all families of those who were killed and suffered
from March 1 developments. “We demand stopping the police terror,
return air to A1+ TV channel, as well as amending or canceling many
laws, particularly, the law on motor third party liability and the
ban on street trade. We demand raising the minimal salary to 200 USD,
the unemployment doles to 100 USD, the average pension to 110 USD. We
are convinced that the funds pocketed by the officials and the taxes
not paid by the oligarchs must be enough to cover all these expenses”,
said Ter-Petrosyan.

On behalf of the opposition Ter-Petrosyan demanded resignation of Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Vice Premier Armen Gevorgyan, President of
the Central Bank Artur Javadyan, Chairman of the State Income Committee
Gagik Khachatyan, Mayor of Yerevan Karen Karapetyan, Prosecutor General
Aghvan Hovsepyan, Director of the National Security Service Hayk
Harutyunyan. “If most of our claims are satisfied, the demonstrators
will authorize the ANC to start dialogue with the regime on mid-term
presidential and parliamentary elections,” Ter-Petrosyan said.

From: A. Papazian