Author: Andres-Papazian

Armenian officials should refrain from abuse of state resources –
OSCE/ODIHR final report

May 09, 2013 | 13:17

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) on the 18 February 2013 presidential election in
Armenia concludes that though the elections were generally
well-administered and characterized by a respect for fundamental
freedoms, more can be done to increase public trust in the integrity
of the electoral process.

The report, released on 8 May 2013, notes that while contestants were
able to campaign freely and media fulfilled their legal obligation to
provide balanced coverage, a lack of impartiality of the public
administration and cases of pressure on voters were of concern.

`At the same time, shortcomings in the electoral process were mostly
caused by a lack of will to implement the provisions effectively and
impartially. Public trust in the election process remains low,’ the
report reads.

The observers said the election administration headed by the Central
Election Commission administrated the election in an overall
professional manner, stressing that `despite serious efforts to
technically improve the voter register, the authorities did not manage
to diffuse the overall mistrust in the integrity of voter
registration.’

It recommends that public officials should refrain from the abuse of
state resources, including abuse of office towards their employees and
the public. Authorities are also encouraged to develop and implement
safeguards in order to ensure a clear separation between State and
party, in line with the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document.

While the electoral legal framework is noted as comprehensive and
conducive overall to the conduct of democratic elections, election
commissions, law enforcement bodies and courts should interpret,
implement and enforce the electoral legal framework taking into
consideration the intent of the law.

Election commissions and courts are also recommended to duly consider
the substance of all complaints and appeals, and impartially and
thoroughly consider all evidence.

The report encourages authorities to proceed with preparing the
necessary legislative amendments, in order to address previous and
present recommendations, in a public consultative and inclusive
process with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including
political parties and civil society.

As to media coverage, it is called `balanced’ but formal, focusing
predominantly on campaign events rather than providing analytical
commentary of candidates’ campaign messages or addressing the
performance of the incumbent in office.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

Iran’s Karabakh mediation mission and liberation of Shoushi: Analysis
by Iranian studies expert

12:22 09/05/2013 » ANALYSIS

By Armen Israyelyan, Iranian studies expert

Iran was the first country to be a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. At the invitation of Iranian President Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani, a delegation led by first Armenian President Levon
Ter-Petrosyan arrived in Tehran on May 6, 1992. Among other issues,
the sides discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Some time after
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati’s visit to Yerevan,
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Vayezi arrived in Azerbaijan
and Armenia to persuade the sides to reach an agreement on concluding
a truce.

On May 8, 1992 Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Azerbaijani
acting President Yaqub Mammadov and President of the mediator country,
Iran, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, signed a joint declaration on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to which Mahmud Vayezi was to
visit the region (Baku, Yerevan, Stepanakert) to work out mechanisms
for truce.

On May 8, the day when the joint declaration was signed, Shoushi was
liberated by Armenian forces, and Iran’s mediation mission was
interrupted.

Although Iran’s mediation mission was interrupted by Shoushi’s
liberation, in the following years, as an authoritative member of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Iran has carried out a balanced
policy towards the Karabakh issue, which creates a precedent for a
number of Islamic countries not to give way to Azerbaijan’s
provocations aimed at giving a religious coloring to the Karabakh
conflict, and to have a neutral position on Karabakh. Iran believes
that the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group are inefficient and
therefore it offers mediation to the conflicting parties.

Although Azerbaijan blames Iran for its defeat in the Karabakh war
saying that Iran supported Armenia during the war, indeed, Iranian
officials acknowledge that Iran provided military and financial
assistance to Azerbaijan during the war.

Although Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, some members of the Iranian
Majlis and clerics sometimes make statements that run counter to
Tehran’s position, Iran’s President and Foreign Minister announce that
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved through negotiations,
with the involvement of the regional countries, based on the
fundamental principles of international law.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

Hovik Abrahamyan: Together we’ll resolutely continue to build
stronger, more secure and welfare Motherland

10:28 09/05/2013 » SOCIETY

Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan issued an
address on occasion of Victory and Peace Day, which reads as follows:

`Dear compatriots,

I warmly congratulate you on Victory and Peace Day.

Symbolizing our victories of different times, at the same time this
holiday unites different generations, witnessing of their selfless
love and devotion for all of them, steadfast spirit towards common
Motherland, believing in their own forces and confidence towards
future.

Before the revival of the national liberation struggle of the last
century we had a generation of war veterans in the person of our hero
fathers and grandfathers, who participated in World War II and
Patriotic War. At the end of the 80s of the 20th century the second
generation of the veterans was born in the person of the winners of
the Artsakh liberation battle, who repeated the heroism of their
senior winners and again documented the invincibility of Armenian arm
and the force of thought. Being against the war they were all fighting
for the Motherland, for the victory and for peace, and its culmination
was the liberation of Shushi.

Dear compatriots,

Our victorious achievements, all manifestations of self-devotion of
yesterday’s and today’s heroes, their memories and living examples
drive us to new victories. I again congratulate you on this glorious
holiday, being sure and convinced that together we’ll resolutely
continue to build stronger, more secure and welfare Motherland with
tripartite unity of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora.’

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

President: May 9 is day of deliverance and freedom, new beginning for
new hopes and new life

09:39 09/05/2013 » SOCIETY

President Serzh Sargsyan issued a congratulatory address on occasion
of Victory and Peace Day.

The address reads as follows:

Dear Compatriots,

I congratulate us all on the occasion of Victory and Peace Day.

For our nation, May 9 holds double significance. Glorious victory
achieved through the heroic deeds of our fathers and grandfathers side
by side with many other nations, not only saved our country from the
imminent catastrophe but also allowed to build a peaceful and creative
future. In the fight with fascism, the Armenian soldiers had once
again manifested the freedom-loving nature of our people and
determination to accomplish heroic deeds, becoming thus unique
inspiration in Artsakh’s fight for freedom. With the liberation of
Shushi, May 9 acquired a new meaning, became a new symbol of victory
and peace.

For us, May 9 is the day of deliverance and freedom, a new beginning
for new hopes, a new life, a historic milestone in the modern history
of the Armenian nation. Today, the most important thing is
crystal-clear: we don’t need anyone’s lenience to live in our own home
and will cut out any violence on its root. May 9 is a weighty proof
that in case of need, we will not hesitate to exercise our right for
self-defense and will do so to its utmost. This is the present formula
for peace.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

Regrettably, peace is often to be paid for by lives: eternal glory to
our heroes. We will immortalize their deed by building a strong and
rising state.

I once again congratulate all compatriots in the Republic of Armenia,
Artsakh and Spyurk and wish lasting peace and creative work.

Source: Panorama.am

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA

More departures than returns in Armenia during the first half of the year?

Haykakan Zhamanak Joghovourd and cite the data published by the
National Statistical Service, under which, in the first half of this
year 259000 people have left Armenia while 224,000 are entered, the
negative balance amounting to 35 000. According Haykakan Zhamanak for
the same period last year the figure was 25,300. Haykakan Zhamanak
states that the majority of departures being made “seasonal” workers
returning in the fall, a comprehensive analysis of the migration will
be significant at the end of 2013.

Extract from the press review of the Embassy of France in Armenia,
dated May 2, 2013

Thursday, May 9, 2013,
Stéphane © armenews.co

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE
Plus de départs que de retours en Arménie au cours du premier semestre
de l’année ?

Haykakan Jamanak et Joghovourd citent les données publiées par le
Service national des statistiques, selon lesquelles, au cours du
premier semestre de cette année 259 000 personnes ont quitté l’Arménie
tandis que 224 000 y sont entrées, le solde négatif s’élevant à 35
000. Selon Haykakan Jamanak, pour la même période de l’année dernière,
ce chiffre était de 25 300. Haykakan Jamanak précise que la majorité
des départs étant le fait de travailleurs « saisonniers » qui rentrent
en automne, une analyse complète du solde migratoire ne sera
significative qu’à la fin 2013.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie en
date du 2 mai 2013

jeudi 9 mai 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIE
Le Parquet général examinera la pétition du CNA pour enquête sur le
patrimoine du maire sortant, Taron Margarian

Rappelons que le CNA avait saisi le Parquet général sur l’origine des
avoirs de quelques millions de dollars du jeune maire. Taron Margarian
a notifié à la Commission électorale centrale qu’il dispose de 115
millions de drams (277 000 $), de 50.000 dollars et de 50.000 euros en
espèces. Il a également dressé la liste des entreprises et propriétés
lui appartenant. Le CNA estime que la valeur de ces actifs serait de
l’ordre de 6 à 10 millions de dollars. Selon la loi arménienne, les
procureurs ont 10 jours pour décider d’ouvrir une procédure pénale. /
RFE/RL

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie en
date du 2 mai 2013

jeudi 9 mai 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

Second Genocide in the Offing?

Jirair Tutunjian,
editor, Keghart.com

It’s about 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 24.

I am in a battered taxi, on the road from Yerevan to Echmiadzin.

We are passing through the garish, obnoxious, preposterous Casino Row.

To make conversation, I ask the cabbie whether he had been to
Dzidzernagapert earlier in the day.

He takes a deep breath and mutters: `I am waiting to pay respects to
the second Dzidzernagapert.’

I ask him what he means.

`We are going through a second genocide…The country is emptying every
day… Nobody knows the true unemployment rate …People are borrowing
money wherever they can just to stay alive…It’s much worse in the marz
(provinces)…In 1915 our women committed suicide rather than submit to
the Turk; now our girls are selling their bodies to Iranian tourists…
Soon there will be no Armenian left in Armenia… then we will build a
second Dzidzernagapert outside Armenia for this second genocide…’ the
cabby’s outburst continues. `I am an engineer and a professional
musician, but I can’t find a job. I am driving a taxi because there’s
nothing else I can do. Many men are doing the same.’

The outrageous and painful rant pours cold water on my high spirits,
having witnessed earlier in the day seemingly half of Armenia’s
population at the grand Genocide memorial.

The following morning, returning from Echmiadzin, I ask another cabby
whether he is earning enough to support his family. `We are not
living; we are surviving,’ says the man who still works at the age of
75 because his monthly pension is 30,000 Dram (about $52). He has four
children: one is in Belgium; the second in Russia; the third will
leave any day now for Russia. The fourth, is underpaid at a Yerevan
retail store, says the grandfather, who like so many adult males, has
a two-day stubble. He says his children have stopped sending
remittances because `the economy is bad in Europe and in Russia.’

When he drops me at Hrabarag Square ($5 for the half-hour drive from
Echmiadzin), he pulls out a pamphlet from the glove compartment and
gives it to me. It’s a Jehovah’s Witness pamphlet. `Read it. It’s good
for you,’ he says with a half smile.

Cabbies are traditionally and notoriously easy information source for
visiting journalists everywhere. Sometimes they merely project their
own circumstances, although they merrily assume the role of a credible
source re the national psyche and condition. However, during my
eight-day recent visit to Armenia, I heard dismal variations of what
the two cabbies had told me. I heard it from young women in parks,
>From middle-aged family men, from painters at the Saryan Monument and
>From young men at the Cascades Park. I heard the same agonizing
stories in Yerevan and in Echmiadzin. They all blamed President Serge
Sarkissian and his affluent coterie for the dismal economic condition.
And practically everyone claimed to have voted for Raffi Havanissian
at the recent presidential elections.

A few days after the above encounter, I gave to a wealthy politician
(a redundant descriptive) a summary of what I had heard. He said that
Armenians are notorious for wanting work to be all ready and easy
(wrapped in ribbon?) before they deem to take on the task. He said
that he had vacant jobs at his company which paid $1,000 a month, but
that there were no takers. When I mentioned the politician’s statement
to several men, their response was unanimous: they would take any job
which paid $1,000 a month. Two Syrian immigrants I met told me they
found it extremely difficult to import car accessories from Europe
because of archaic and restrictive customs regulations.

Who is to blame for the economic basket case Armenia has become? Who
is to blame for the unemployment, the emptying of Armenia, for the
bureaucracy’s corruption, for the deteriorating infrastructure, for
the absence of rule of law? For the disillusionment, for the
hopelessness?

Is it the corrupt, unwieldy, fossilized Soviet mentality which is
`sucking the blood’ of Armenia?

Is it the Turkish-Azeri economic blockade?

Is it the emergency condition (daily threats from Azerbaijan)?

Is it the alleged crib-to-tomb welfare tradition and mentality of the Soviets?

Is it because those who run the country belong to the same clique that
runs Russia or in other words, does President Putin decide who runs
Armenia?

Is it the oligarchs who control Sarkissian and whom Sarkissian may not
be able to control even if he wants to?

In his inaugural address, on April 9, President Sarkissian said: `Let
me highlight three main ones [top priorities]: emigration,
unemployment, and poverty. The solutions to these problems are to be
found in the same field. Efficient economy that is on the rise, this
is the formula to our success. The second priority is in ensuring the
rule of law. Equality of everyone before the law is a binding
prerequisite both for our economic and political advancement. The
third priority, mostly directly linked to the one before, the rule of
law, is the deepening of democracy.’

Amen.

Why do we have a faint suspicion that he must have said something
similar at his previous inaugural address?

The question remains: How do we stop the slow suicide of Armenia?

Do Sarkissian and his oligarch honchos, henchmen, and hangers-on care
while they enrich their illegally acquired assets in foreign banks?

Will Armenians of Armenia soon import the defeatist Seattle slogan of
the `80s: `Will the last person leaving Yerevan please put out the
lights?’?

From: A. Papazian

Triple holiday of May 9: special day for Armenian people

May 9, 2013 – 01:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – May 9 is a special day for Armenian people. In 1945,
the defeat of fascist Germany saved us from Turkish occupation, and,
consequently, the second Genocide. This might be the reason Armenians
fought not only for their Soviet motherland, which was understandable,
but for Armenia as well. The small Armenia gave the world three
Marshalls – Hovhannes Baghramyan, Hamazasp Babajanyan, Armenak
Khanferyants and one admiral – Ivan Isakov. The heroes of the Soviet
Union, holders of the Order of Glory – their names are forever written
in the memories of the Armenian people.

It’s no secret that if German forces hadn’t been stopped at
Stalingrad, Turkish army would immediately have broken into the
Armenian SSR. World War II lessons must not be forgotten or
diminished, though one of the most bloody wars in the history of
humanity keeps being `rewritten’ for political gains of different
countries. Yes, in Soviet times the history of the Great Patriotic war
was seen the way it was presented by the USSR Political Bureau. Yet,
this is the war as it was actually experienced by Soviet people and
the second front, opened in 1944, when the outcome of the war was
clear. The Allies helped: by providing equipment, weaponry and fuel,
but it was Soviet Army who fought the war. 20 to 27 million Soviet
people and about half a million Americans died in World War II. We
don’t mean to extol or diminish the sacrifice of either ones, but
justice requires to own the great contribution of the Soviet army to
the victory.

47 years later, on May 9, Armenian army won another victory,
liberating the ancient capital of Karabakh, Shushi. It was here that
Karabakh’s present-time defense army was born, believed by many
experts to be the one of the strongest in the region. Every year, the
triple holiday of May 9 is celebrated by veterans of Artsakh war and
WWII alike. Their numbers dwindle as years pass by, they might be old
and ill, but they keep the memory of those years alive.

Karine Ter-Sahakyan / PanARMENIAN News

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA: NEW RULE FOR STATE-PAID CHILDBIRTH STIRS DISCONTENT

EurasiaNet.org, NY
May 8 2013

May 8, 2013 – 10:50am, by Gayane Abrahamyan

A government decree in Armenia that bars pregnant women who are not
residents of Yerevan from receiving free childbirth services in the
capital is causing discontent in outlying regions.

In a bid to boost population numbers, the state covers the costs for
childbirth services in Armenia. Seeking better facilities and medical
personnel, pregnant women from the regions often travel to Yerevan
to give birth. In 2012, 64 percent of the 70,648 women registered
for state-provided childbirth assistance gave birth in Yerevan,
according to the National Statistical Service.

The May 1 decree issued by the Ministry of Health was designed to
encourage improvements at hospitals in the country’s 10 regions. Under
the measure, women will only be able to obtain state-paid birthing
services at hospitals in regions where they have an official address.

Health Minister Derenik Dumanian, the author of the decree, maintains
that budgetary funds to improve care at public hospitals in regions
will be forthcoming. The government currently pays 135,000 drams
($329) per delivery in Yerevan hospitals, and 97,000 drams ($236)
at facilities in rural locations.

“One-third of the pregnant women from the regions come to Yerevan
to give birth; hence, the money designated for rural hospitals is
transferred to hospitals in Yerevan, leading to reduced financial
resources in the regions, as well as an outflow of professionals from
rural communities to Yerevan,” Dumanian told EurasiaNet.org.

Despite government assurances, some pregnant women from rural areas
remain wary about the decree. Thirty-three-year-old Gohar Minasian, an
expectant mother living in Abovian, 16 kilometers outside of Yerevan,
fears the consequences of giving birth in her local hospital. In 2011,
she noted, an Abovian anesthesiologist’s mistake led to the death of a
pregnant woman from heart failure. “If this had been in the capital,
under the supervision of skilled professionals, both the mother and
the child would have survived,” Minasian claimed, without providing
supporting details.

Under the decree, pregnant women from the regions will still be able
to receive free medical care in Yerevan in emergency situations. The
health ministry’s chief obstetrician-gynecologist, Razmik Abrahamian,
insists that pregnant women in most of Armenia’s regions already have
access to adequate care.

“If a few years ago we did not have rural maternity hospitals with
modern facilities and it was understandable why they had to come to
Yerevan, now six out of the 10 regions have fully equipped hospitals,
but people keep coming to the capital out of habit,” Abrahamian said.

“The new decree will make them at least familiarize themselves with
the facilities and conditions available at their new local hospitals,
and only then make a decision.”

Independent MP Edmon Marukian, who strongly opposes the decree, argues
that it could end up fueling corruption. “If there are exceptions
[made to the decree] for high-risk births and [women] will be sent
to deliver in Yerevan, it is quite possible that women with a normal
or no-risk pregnancy might bribe someone into getting permission to
give birth in Yerevan,” reasoned Marukian, who represents the northern
region of Lori. “Or a pregnant woman from a rural community might be
in Yerevan and need to give birth, but a hospital might check her in
only in exchange for money.”

Abrahamian dismissed corruption concerns, promising close supervision
of the decree’s implementation. All hospitals have a ministry hotline
number by which they can report attempted bribery, he added. “Let
them call and everyone will be punished.”

Based on infant mortality statistics alone, the regions might appear
a better choice to give birth than a hospital in Yerevan. In 2011,
the latest year for which data is available, the capital recorded
118 infant deaths, the highest level in the country. But Abrahamian
maintained that 70 percent of those deaths were of children born
to women from the regions, where, he claimed, public knowledge of
prenatal care is spotty.

Nationwide over the past decade, the number of infant deaths has
declined steadily. From 2006-2012, the number of infant deaths per
1,000 live births dropped by half to 12. The maternal mortality rate
also has fallen to a just a handful, compared with as many as 35 per
year a decade ago.

Senior regional hospital staffers say public perceptions of medical
care in the regions still lag behind the statistical evidence. For
example, in Artashat, a town 29 kilometers southeast from Yerevan,
the birthrate at the local hospital has fallen by 50 percent since
2008, when the state began paying for childbirth services.

“Our conditions are good, too, the medical personnel are highly
professional, but we cannot compete with the hospitals in the capital
equipped with the newest facilities,” said Dr. Zemfira Navasardian,
head of the Artashat hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department.

Obstetricians who earlier moved to Yerevan for work may now be tempted
to return home, hospital executives said, but that process requires
time. In the meantime, some Armenian women are not willing to wait.

Barred from state-funded childbirth in Yerevan, Minasian, a
kindergarten teacher, is saving to pay for the services herself.

Editor’s note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for ArmeniaNow.com
in Yerevan.

From: A. Papazian