Author: Andres-Papazian

NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS A GAME – EXPERT

16:07 ~U 20.02.13

Expert in international relations Menua Soghomonyan believes
Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence is a reality.

“No concessions are possible, and the negotiations over Artsakh
[Nagorno-Karabakh] are just a game because Artsakh is already
independent,” Mr Soghomonyan told journalists on Wednesday.

He does not expect the problem to be resolved at the moment. He
believes that Armenia’s withdrawing from the negotiations will settle
the problem. “Artsakh’s independence is the whole problem, and Armenia
has nothing else to do,” Mr Soghomonyan said. Nagorno-Karabakh must
be directly involved in the negotiations, he said.

It is Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his administration that
need the present negotiation process. Should the negotiation process
reach a stalemate, they will not find anything to tell their society.

“They say the problem needs a military solution, but they are well
aware they are incapable of that,” Mr Soghomonyan said.

With respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, the Lisbon
principles were in effect during Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s presidency.

The Madrid principles were the basis for negotiations under Robert
Kocharyan. Armenia’s incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan has assumed
a harder line, which “is enhancing our country’s reputation,” the
expert said.

From: A. Papazian

HERITAGE PARTY MEMBERS HAVE GOOD CHANCES TO WIN IN YEREVAN’S COUNCIL OF ELDERS ELECTIONS: DEPUTY

YEREVAN, February 20. /ARKA/. The members of oppositional Heritage
party of Armenia have good chances to win in Yerevan’s Council of
Elders elections, Gagik Minasyan told reporters on Wednesday.

Gagik Minasyan is a Republican and head of the parliamentary committee
for financial, credit and budget affairs, Novosti-Armenia reports.

Next Yerevan’s Council of Elders elections are scheduled for May
5, 2013.

“We are going to hold the elections of the Council of Elders of
Yerevan, and 43% of votes which Hovannisian won in the capital (
during the presidential elections) serve as a significant resource
for making this political party gain great results during the May
elections,” Minasyan said.

Heritage members will be able to choose the right path and prove
they are the oppositional party number one on the political arena
of Armenia.

“Whether the party will choose this path or another one is up to it,”
Minasyan added and noted that Heritage should make pretty serious
political and organizational steps to justify the trust they had got
from people, the Republican said.

He also noted some political parties which had refused from running
the election race, however “doing their business behind the scene”
try to cajole Heritage and, particularly, Raffi Hovannisian to make
wrong steps, which will have a negative impact on either the party
itself or Armenia as a whole.

“For a long time the oppositional parties without actually
participating in the political processes have been trying to manipulate
them, but this is unacceptable. I think we are just about to face
a watershed, when our further political processes will either lead
our country to prosperity or unpredictable developments,” Minasyan
clarified.

Yerevan’s Council of Yerevan elects the mayor. In compliance with
the legislature, the candidate should be nominated by the factions
which are the members of the Council. Mayor is elected through the
Council members’ voting.

According to the ballot preliminary count results from all 1,988
polling stations, Armenia’s incumbent president Sezrh Sargsyan won the
re-election Monday with 861,378 votes or 58.64%. Raffi Hovannisian
polled 539,674 votes or 36.74%, Hrant Bagratyan – 31,643 votes or
2.15%, Paruyr Hayrikyan – 18,093 votes or 1.23%, Andrias Ghukasyan –
8,328 votes or 0.57%, Arman Melikyan – 3,520 votes or 0.24% and Vardan
Sedrakyan – 6,203 votes or 0.42%. -0-

From: A. Papazian

BLUE BOOK SENT TO TURKISH PARLIAMENT BY POST

20.02.13

Blue Book, which contains eyewitness account of the Armenian Genocide,
has been sent to the Turkish parliament by post, Agos reports.

The Turkish publisher Ragıp Zarakolu reminded journalists of what
happened four years ago.

“Like school students, the MPs were protected from ‘dangerous
material.’ The ban on the book clearly revealed serious problems with
freedom there [in Turkish parliament],” he said.

The books, which were delivered four years ago, have been re-sent to
the MPs – from Speaker Cemil Cicek to Ertugrul Kurkcu, a member of
the Human Right Committee.

Ara Sarafian, Director of the London-based Gomidas Institute, presented
the book. He reminded the journalists that it was written in 1916 by
the British Parliament on the basis of eyewitness accounts.

From: A. Papazian

HOVANNISIAN CHALLENGES SARKISIAN ON ‘TRANSITION OF POWER’

Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

Yerevan residents flock to a post-election rally organized by Raffi
Hovannisian

YEREVAN (Combined Sources) – Heritage Party Presidential Candidate
Raffi Hovannisian, at a press conference and rally held at Liberty
Square Tuesday, called Monday’s presidential elections a “victory for
the people” and urged President Serzh Sarkisian to meet with him by
5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the peaceful transition of power.

“I am already the elected president of the Republic of Armenia,” he
told supporters at the Liberty Square rally. “I want to come here
tomorrow at 5 p.m. and report to you that I met with Mr. Sakisian
and that he had the strength, manliness … to say that the Armenian
people won and congratulate them.”

Hovannisian and campaign representatives declined to state what course
of action they would take should Sarkisian refuse the meeting.

Armenia’s Central Election Commission reported that Sarkisian secured
58.6 percent of the vote to win the election with Hovannisian coming
in second with 36.8 percent. Early results put former prime minister
Hrant Bagratian in third place with 2.2 percent of the votes. The
remaining four candidates Paruir Hayrikian, Andrias Ghukasyan, Vardan
Sedrakyan and Armen Melikyan each received less than two percent of
the votes, according to the preliminary reports. According to the CEC,
60 percent of eligible voters took part in Monday’s election.

Hovannisian campaign spokesperson Hovsep Khurshudyan disputed the
results, telling reporters that the results from 21 of 42 polling
stations sampled had different results than those reported by the CEC.

“We had 27,902 votes at the polling stations, with 19,057 votes or 68%
cast for Raffi Hovannisian, and 32% for Serzh Sargsyan. We can get
the results with difficulties. All the election commission chairmen
were ordered not to provide information from the polling stations
where Raffi Hovannisian is winning,” Khurshudyan stated.

A preliminary findings report by election observers representing the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the
European Parliament (EP) noted marked improvements in electoral
practices, but documented a number of shortcomings. “Overall, the
election was administered in a professional manner and real efforts
were made by the authorities to improve the quality of the voter
lists. The media covered all candidates in a rather balanced manner,
but that coverage would have benefitted from more critical analysis
and debates between candidates,” said Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini, the
Head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(OSCE/ODIHR) long-term election observation mission. “Unfortunately,
the blurring of the distinction between the State and the ruling
party continues to be an issue. This was demonstrated in the misuse
of administrative resources, pressure on voters, and a lack of
impartiality on the part of the public administration.”

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S LEADER TO “INVESTIGATE” CAUSES OF LETDOWNS IN ELECTION – NEWSPAPER

NEWS.AM
February 20, 2013 | 07:14

YEREVAN. – The results of Monday’s presidential voting in Armenia
were a surprise for President Serzh Sargsyan-who, nonetheless, is
reelected into office-because he was reported on something completely
different during the pre-election phase, Hraparak daily reports.

“Some compare the created situation with [the] 1996 [election],
when unexpected results were registered, in which [then-President,
and leader of today’s opposition bloc, Armenian National Congress]
Levon Ter-Petrosyan saw his team’s share of the guilt; to note, the
[National Assembly] NA Speaker [at the time] likewise was the chief
of his [election campaign] headquarters.

According to some information, Serzh Sargsyan, unlike Ter-Petrosyan,
tends to ‘investigate’ to understand as to who is to blame,” Hraparak
writes.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA LAST UNAPPRECIATED PARTNER FOR RUSSIA – EXPERT

NEWS.AM
February 19, 2013 | 19:03

MOSCOW. – Armenia is the last unappreciated partner for Russia among
the post Soviet states, Russian MP Vyacheslav Nikonov said commenting
on the distinctiveness of Armenian-Russian relations in the Caucasus.

“Armenia is the key partner for Russia in the Caucasus, as it is a
member of the CIS, EurAsEC, and CSTO. Armenia is also supporter of
bilateral close integration as well as Russia’s full international
programs. Armenia is the last unappreciated partner of Russia among
the post Soviet states.

There are no signs that Armenia’s incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
will shift his current relations between our states. He is a consistent
supporter of developing relations with Russia. However, Armenia’s
membership in the Common Economic Space and the Customs Union is
extremely difficult as there are no common borders between Armenia
and Russia,” he said.

From: A. Papazian

WHY WERE THE ASSESSMENTS GIVEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS MAINLY POLITICAL? READ COUNT:

February 20 2013

The assessments of the presidential election in Armenia given by the
international monitoring organizations were often contradicting. The
OSCE/ODIHR assessed the election: “We think that this election was
a step backward in terms of competition.” The ICES’s assessment
was milder. And how do the representatives of the local monitoring
missions assess the work and position of their foreign colleagues?

talked with Armenian monitoring organizations’
representatives about this. Artak Kirakosyan, the head of the Civil
Society Institute, said about this: “Their reports comprise two parts.

In one part, they assert what they have seen. In that part, they
mainly mention problems, about which the local observers have also
talked. The second one is about political conclusions, where a problem
arises every time whether they do it as politicians or as a monitoring
mission. The biggest problem that arose this time was that analysts
have the right to talk about whether the election was competitive or
not, whereas an international observer has no right to say something
like that. International observers draw political conclusions, which
are based on their perceptions and interests and not merely carry
out a monitoring mission. A step backward doesn’t work anymore; they
didn’t say that during the parliamentary election either. There are
political issues related, say, to the integration of the Republic of
Armenia in the European Union. The OSCE is a political organization,
the Council of Europe too, and political organizations give political
descriptions. The same thing applies to the American conclusion. The
Russians also have political interests. They cannot say that the
elections in the Republic of Armenia were conducted badly, since they
say that they were conducted well in Uzbekistan, so that they are not
blamed afterwards. Therefore, we should assess the legitimacy.” Anahit
Gevorgyan, the head of the Martuni Women’s Community Council NGO,
in her turn, said in this regard: “I don’t blame the observers. When
they enter a polling place, they really see that everything is perfect.

Outwardly it is normal, no crowds within 50 meters; it is placid
inside. How could they know that all members of that commission are
uniform people, which is the reason why no one makes a fuss there? It
is a calm election; what should they record? They would enter at the
time, and a poll-watcher would fight; who would fight now, so that
they could see? If political parties don’t join the game; what this
election was for? An observer is not politically active. We cannot
find a neutral man to fight. Besides, everyone knows everyone; last
time our observers were more secure, we would tell them to go and tell
the poll-watchers of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), and they would
fight. Yes, I agree that the election was not competitive. While Raffi
Hovhannisyan rarely had poll-watchers in a district, Serzh Sargsyan had
poll-watchers four times registered in each place.” Tatev HARUTYUNYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN NA SPEAKER THINKS OF HIMSELF – EXPERT

TERT.AM
16:18 ~U 21.02.13

Hovik Abrahamyan, Speaker of Armenia’s parliament and Head of incumbent
President Serzh Sargsyan’s campaign headquarters is thinking of his
appointment as Armenia’s premier much more than of Serzh Sargsyan’s
reputation, Hmayak Hovhannisyan, Chairman of the Political Scientists’
Union of Armenia, stated at a debate with Mkrtich Minasyan, an MP
from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA).

With respect to the first Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s
participation in the voting, the expert noted that he showed his
attitude to the elections – he believes they are events worth
participating in.

“You underestimated Raffi Hohannisian. You thought he would not poll
as many votes as he actually did,” Mr Hovhannisyan said.

In response, Mr Minasyan said that the people, as well as local and
international observers, showed their attitude to the presidential
election. In the recent 20 years this presidential election has been
the best in terms of conformity with international standards.

“Some lack of competition was the only thing noted, which, however,
does not belittle this event in Armenia,” he said.

With respect to post-election developments, Mr Hovhannisyan said
elections have always been followed by rallies. However, the present
situation is radically different.

“This time the authorities have failed to win over the presidential
candidate that got the third largest number of votes, which was the
case during all the previous elections. Now, however, it is difficult
for the authorities to stabilize the situation,” he said. The expert
stressed that Raffi Hovannisian will “fight hard right to the end.”

From: A. Papazian

FOUR WOMEN IN FRONT OF THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING

02:11 PM | TODAY | SOCIAL

“I have no expectations, there is only one prevision: if Serzh Sargsyan
is elected again, Armenia will be destroyed and vacated”- said fallen
conscript Valerie Mouradian’s mother Nana Mouradian. Even such
bad weather conditions did not prevent the fallen soldier’s mother
to reach Yerevan from Armavir to participate in the protest rally.
“I will fight, as long as I have forces”,-ensures Mrs. Nana

Though she has ceased to believe in anything but still hopes that the
people will stand up. “We are going towards secure Armenia killing the
soldiers who provide the security”. By the way, today , during the
recurrent Thursday protest action only mothers of 4 fallen conscripts.

From: A. Papazian

DECISION 2013: HOVANNISIAN SUPPORTERS CONVERGING IN YEREVAN SQUARE FOR POSSIBLE POST-ELECTION SHOWDOWN

VOTE 2013 | 21.02.13 | 12:44

Photolure

By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter

Despite snow and sleet in Yerevan this morning citizens have been
converging in the Armenian capital’s Liberty Square for what might
be a post-election showdown between opposition leader and official
runner-up in the Monday presidential election Raffi Hovannisian and
official president-elect, incumbent head of state Serzh Sargsyan
later this afternoon.

Hovannisian supporters who have been gathering in the square before
the start of the rally scheduled after midday (ahead of a possible
political gathering of Sargsyan’s Republican Party of Armenia in
the same venue) were giving assurances that they were determined to
continue their struggle and expected the incumbent to “hand over”
power to the people – as demanded by Hovannisian.

Hovannisian and thousands of his supporters have already held two
rallies in the square – a traditional place for political gatherings
disputing election results in Armenia – and yesterday he said he was
ready for a “lengthy” struggle. He also said he was going to spend
the night in the square and invited those of his supporters who felt
like doing the same to join him.

Civic activist, writer Bayandour Poghosyan, who spent the night
together with Hovannisian, told ArmeniaNow that during the whole night
they guarded the flag of the Republic of Armenia which, she said,
“once again symbolizes the victory of the citizen of Armenia over
the criminal regime and oligarchy.”

“The citizens of Armenia have made their choice, and I have come
to stand next to the citizens. We are going to stand up to the end,
till victory,” said Poghosyan, adding that no matter what, the fight
will be peaceful and lawful.

However, Sargsyan’s ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has not
yet confirmed its plans to go ahead with the rally, with some of its
members hinting at a possible rescheduling to avoid a possible clash.

In an interview with Yerkir.am, deputy chairman of the RPA Galust
Sahakyan said that “in fact, our rally has become a desire of
adventure-seekers who are trying to mislead the people.”

“In such conditions we do not want to play into the hands of
individuals who want there to be victims,” added the senior RPA member.

Post-election rallies led by ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosyan in 2008
ended in deadly clashes between his supporters and security personnel
in which 10 people, including eight civilians, were killed.

From: A. Papazian