Author: Babajanian Karo

AZERBAIJAN SHOULD SEEK ‘TO BREAK UP THE ARMENIAN LOBBY’
Mon 16 January 2012

News.Az interviews Russian journalist and political scientist Rustam
Arifjanov, vice-president of the Eurasian Academy of Sciences,
chairman of the Mediakratiya National Association of Journalists.

How would you assess the situation developing around Iran?

The situation is not favourable either for Iran or the entire
international community – and first of all not favourable to
Azerbaijan. The US chose its goal long ago. It doesn’t matter what
the state is called that they think is hampering them in establishing
regimes which will be democratic.

Iran became a target of the US and its satellites back in 1979 after
the victory of the Iranian Islamic revolution. Since then, every
attempt has been made to destroy this regime and the Americans have
not backed off from this goal. It~Rs not known how soon they will
reach it, though, since Iran is a powerful country.

But we know and have seen that the Americans get what they want in
the end. By hook or by crook, they reach their goal.

Do you think that missile strikes will be launched sooner or later?

Yes, they will if they cannot ruin the regime in other ways. Bomb
strikes are not necessary. In fact, today problems are not always
solved by force. Despite the ideological fortress, the Islamic regime
is also experiencing certain corrosive influences. We have the notion
of network warfare where people are psychologically affected by radio,
satellite transmission and the Internet. In this case, the danger
for the Iranian regime is the incitement of ethnic hatred. It~Rs a
very convenient method for whoever wants to ruin Iran, since Iran is
a multi-ethnic country which is home not only to Persians but also
to ethnic Azerbaijanis and Kurds. And this is very dangerous. So I
would ask our fellow countrymen to carefully consider appeals for
the unification of the Azerbaijan Republic and the province of South
Azerbaijan (Iran).

Recently we saw that even some MPs have begun to call for the
Azerbaijan Republic to be renamed North Azerbaijan. Why are we hearing
such calls now? In fact, just now the aggravation of the situation
between the Azerbaijani and Persian population of Iran is not so
advantageous for the Azerbaijan Republic. All these statements in
Baku have a degree of naivety, although it is very beneficial to some
forces to stir enmity not only with Iran, but also with Azerbaijan.

The main thing is not to fall into this trap.

If war happens in Iran, how will it affect Azerbaijan, in particular,
the Karabakh conflict?

No doubt, it will have an effect. If military action involves the South
Caucasus, and this seems likely, a completely unexpected scenario
will unfold and will certainly have an impact on the course of the
Karabakh conflict. But I would call on our country not to view all
these problems through the spectrum of the Karabakh conflict. Yes,
it is our pain, our main problem but international politics is more
varied than one conflict. So, we should ensure that we do not find
ourselves hostages to the Karabakh conflict. There are many who would
like to see us in this position.

We know that in late January, Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev
wants to hold another tripartite meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh. Is it
worth hoping for anything from this meeting?

We should thank Medvedev for his efforts on this during his
presidential term, but we have to admit that they have not brought
much success. Dmitriy Medvedev really wants to leave office, having
made significant progress in the conflict. Therefore, we should seek
new models of conflict resolution, perhaps even using the factor of
strained relations between the West and Iran, but we have to play
a very fine diplomatic game. It is necessary to count the moves and
invent new options.

No doubt, we will resolve the Karabakh conflict, but we should do it
without losing any neighbour or partner.

When you say that we need to find new formats and ways to resolve
the conflict, does this mean that we should give up the OSCE Minsk
Group as the format for talks and look for new options?

We should continue to address this issue within the OSCE Minsk
Group and use the status of a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council to conduct regular talks with representatives of the UN member
countries. We should act on all fronts. We should begin to work with
the Armenian lobby. We need to think and come up with some non-military
operation to break up the Armenian lobby in France and the US. We
need to think how to confront the elite, composed of ethnic French
and French nationals of Armenian origin. We should create a conflict
situation inside the Armenian diaspora and drive a wedge between the
diaspora and Armenia. In other words, we should work more cunningly,
flexibly and effectively.

Perhaps at first glance, it does not seem realistic, but we have to
think, to consider options that include additional tools as well as
use existing ones. That is, there’s no need to cancel the work of
the OSCE, but we do need to invent something new.

PASSIONS AROUND TEGHOUT ARE RISING: CIVIL SOCIETY NO LONGER WANTS TO PUT UP WITH LAWLESSNESS

arminfo
Monday, January 16, 18:47

A protest action against development of Teghout copper-molybdenum
deposit was held in Teghout on Jan 15. Over 200 people (green
activists, politicians and men of culture) from Yerevan, Vanadzor
and Gyumri expressed their protest against the ore-mining project.

“The representatives of Vallex Group did not dare to come up to us.

There were nearly 50 policemen, who were hardly keeping their sympathy
towards the protesters. They approached us and said in a low voice
that they supported us”, Tigran Khzmalyan, a filmmaker, representative
of the opposition Sardarapat movement, said to ArmInfo.

According to him, many residents of the nearby villages also supported
the green activists. Their concern over the development of the deposit
is not accidental, Khzmalyan said, as the ore mining activity in
Teghout is fraught with serious environmental problems. “In some 20
years, when the village will be filled with a tailing dump, there
will remain neither forests nor people nor houses there”, he said.

Khzmalyan pointed out that according to some data, Teghout deposit
contains minerals worth 20 bln USD, but within the next 25 years the
state budget will receive only 600 mln USD. “The problem of Teghout
is simple and complicated at the same time. The feudalists, who have
occupied the country, are hurrying to rob the country before the
people overthrows their regime. However, the civil society no longer
wants to put up with this lawlessness”, he said.

The filmmaker stressed that the collision of interests of the ore
mining industry and ordinary citizens can be observed throughout
Armenia and brought the examples of Kajaran, Hrazdan, etc. “We were
passing by Akhtala, which resembles a moon landscape now. The whole
town is surrounded by tailing dumps, and the toxic liquid from the
Akhtala mining and processing plant was flowing right into the river,
bypassing the tailing dumps. The forest of Teghout will have the same
fate”, he said.

For her part, Head of EcoLur NGO Inga Zarafyan recalled that in 2010
the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in Geneva arrived at a
decision that Armenia failed to implement its commitments as a party
to the Convention. The matter concerned the Teghout project, when
the public’s right to participation in the decision-making process
was violated.

She added that the approval of the Teghout project violated 11 national
laws and 7 international conventions. “If we have normal laws, the
development of the Teghout deposit will be acknowledged illegal”,
Zarafyan said.

She added that Vallex Group intends to file a lawsuit to the court
against environmentalist who on 15 January organized a get-to-know
demonstration on Teghout project risks on the spot of Teghout deposit.

The company’s press release sent to EcoLur NGO said that ‘illegal
actions (of environmentalists) resulted in disturbing the activities
of “Teghout” CJSC, the company incurred essential damage, which is
currently estimated by lawyers.’

To recall, the public organizations have been actively fighting
against the development of Teghout deposit since 2007.

Environmentalists say that the project will not only have a destructive
effect on the environment of the region (357 ha of forests will
be cut), but will also have a positive impact on the health of the
residents of the nearby populated areas.

ARMENIAN OPPOSITION SAYS THAT PACE RAPPORTEUR IS BIASED

arminfo
Monday, January 16, 20:44

The MPs representing the opposition Heritage and ARFD parties believe
that PACE rapporteur on Armenia John Prescott, who is in Yerevan on
a working visit, is biased and supports the Armenian authorities.

Zaruhi Postanjyan from Heritage says that Prescott interrupted them
when they tried to inform him of the instances of bad work by the
police and the public prosecutor’s office. “By doing this he has
proved his partiality. He did not want to hear any facts so as not
to mention them in his report,” the MP said.

The other rapporteur Axel Fischer has not come to Armenia because
of illness.

During Prescott’s meeting with the Armenian delegates to PACE in the
morning Armen Rustamyan from ARFD said that Armenia must switch to
100% proportional electoral system as the current majoritarian one
helps the regime to reproduce itself.

Armen Rustamyan told Radio Liberty that John Prescott got indignant
at his remark. “I did not understand why he overresponded to my
remark. I was retorting properly: we raise an issue before you, so
be so kind as to seriously study this issue and understand what the
current situation is like in Armenia; furthermore, as a co-rapporteur,
you should reflect the existing viewpoints and do your best to raise
the confidence in elections, because this requirement is the keynote
of the PACE resolutions”, Rustamyan said.

After the meeting with ARFD representatives, he will also familiarize
himself with the viewpoints of the ruling coalition’s three parties
and with the opinion of the extraparliamentary oppositional Armenian
National Congress.

It was earlier reported that discussions will mainly focus on the
follow-up to PACE Resolution 1837 (2011) – on the investigation
into the ten casualties of the March 2008 events, the creation of an
independent police complaints mechanism, and civilian oversight over
the police – as well as on preparations for the 2012 parliamentary
elections, and on the priority areas for the monitoring procedure.

“LET’S SAVE TEGHUT FOREST”: ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONTINUE PROTEST OF MINING EXPLOITATION
By Gohar Abrahamyan

ArmeniaNow
16.01.12 | 15:29

“Let’s Save Teghut Forest” environmental group, consisting of 250
activists went to Teghut on January 15 where, as they state, they
tried to introduce the situation in Teghut to the participants of
the environmental initiative.

“This was a study initiative, which aimed to introduce Teghut forest,
the works done there, and what threatens Teghut to all those people
who will later fight against the development of the mine,” says Gor
Hakobyan, head of “Let’s Save Teghut Forest” environmental group.

It has been more than four years — since November 2007 — that
environmentalists have tried to stop the development of further copper
and molybdenum processing near the village of Teghut in the Lori
province. According to environmentalists this may irrevocably damage
the ecology and Teghut village, where there are as many as 55,000 rare
and 45,000 valuable trees in the Teghut forests, as well as plants and
animal species registered in the Red Book [listing endangered species].

In Teghut the members of the environmental group were met by
villagers, who were for the development of the mine and asked the
environmentalists to leave.

The Teghut and Shnogh villages of the Lori province are some four-six
kilometers from the mine.

Harutyun Meliksetyan, Head of Teghut village, the population of
which is 780 people, told ArmeniaNow that the mine is one of the few
workplaces which hire 170 residents of the village, paying on average
60,000 drams (about $150) per month each, and according to Meliksetyan,
“the development of the mine is already irrevocable.”

Resident of Shnogh village Gevorg Papyan told ArmeniaNow that in
spite of job creations, some damages have already appeared.

“I believe that natural resources must be used. Thanks to the
development of the mine many residents of our village have jobs now,
however, when now I see how polluted the river running down our village
is, and the lands are lost in dust, I understand that it is already
causing some damages, and the situation will be even worse in a few
years,” Papyan says.

ARMENIAN “POCKET SONGBOOK” RELEASED IN SEVEN VOLUMES
Alisa Gevorgyan

“Radiolur”
16.01.2012 16:44

The first collection of Armenian songs has been released in seven
volumes. Besides the “Pocket songbook” of all popular Armenian songs,
the collection includes a CD with records of 223 songs and a pen in
shape of Armenian duduk. The presentation of the collection will take
place tomorrow at the Hakob Paronyan Theatre.

Seven Armenians sitting at the table usually sing 107 simultaneously.

One of the reasons is that there are few songs, the lyrics of which
everyone remembers. Therefore, the “Pocket songbook” has a serious
mission to fulfill in this regard. The authors of the initiative
have created the book with the hope that it will find its due place
in the library of every Armenian family.

The seven volumes of the collection will not only present the
undistorted lyrics and music of Armenian songs of all times, but will
also introduce their authors.

ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS, NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM ARE SEPARATE PROCESSES – SABINE FREIZER

Tert.am
16.01.12

Ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols will improve the
relations between the two neighbor countries, which will, in turn,
contribute to the reinforcement of stability in the region,” Sabine
Freizer, European Program Director at the International Crisis Group,
said in an interview with bs-kavkaz.org

Unless the protocols are ratified, the process between Armenia and
Turkey will become more complicated causing disappointment in both
countries’ societies, she said.

According to Freizer, both Armenia and Turkey will benefit from the
normalization of relations. Ankara is confident that it is quite a
positive move first of all from the viewpoint of foreign policy, as
Turkey will thus realize the “zero problems with neighbors” policy,
which is important for its joining the European Union. Besides,
Turkey will get an opportunity to expand its economic influence in
the South Caucasus, she added.

As for Armenia, after the ratification it will establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey and will have open borders and will gain foreign
policy dividends, Freizer said.

According to Sabine Freizer, the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh problem are separate processes.

“One cannot say they are not at all connected with each other,
but we cannot hope that the Armenian-Turkish process will solve the
Karabakh issue.”

Provision of an interim status and security guarantees to
Nagorno-Karabakh will be the best option, according to Freizer.

“Nagorno-Karabakh has functioning government and developing economy,
and the interim status will provide an opportunity to communicate
with the outer world and attract investments.”

VOTE 2012: OPPOSITION COULD UNITE OVER ELECTION CODE REFORM
By Naira Hayrumyan

ArmeniaNow
16.01.12 | 13:29

Last week saw meetings between the leaders of Armenian opposition
forces that, while realizing that getting seats in parliament is less
likely for them without a combined effort, still have been unable to
find common ground for cooperation.

A campaign for amending the Electoral Code to allow the transition from
the current mixed to an all-proportional electoral system may become
the platform for such cooperation. The parliamentary factions of the
opposition Heritage and ARF Dashnaktsutyun parties have introduced
a relevant bill in parliament.

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported that on Friday deputy head of the
Heritage party Ruben Hakobyan and member of the party’s faction in
parliament Armen Martirosyan met with the head of the board of the
Free Democrats party Khachatur Kokobelyan and member of the party’s
board Ararat Zurabyan. (Free Democrats is an opposition party set up
last year by some of the former supporters of the main opposition
Armenian National Congress (ANC), including Armenia’s ex-foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanyan. The party also plans to contest the
parliamentary elections in May this year).

Also, there was a meeting with senior ANC representatives, said
Martirosyan, who added that those meetings were purely of a working
nature and the topic for discussions was the initiative to switch to
a 100-percent proportional electoral system.

Armenian media speculate that even if the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia and its junior coalition partner, Prosperous Armenia, decide
to block the amendments, the joint opposition campaign around this
issue may help them overcome their long-standing strife.

Opposition parties ANC and ARF Dashnaktsutyun practically exclude
dialogue between themselves because of the events that happened 18
years ago when the former ruling Armenian National Movement party
(that now makes the core of the ANC), under the leadership of then
President Levon Ter-Petrosyan (who now leads the ANC) cracked down on
the Dashnaks, with many of the party members sent to jail. They were
freed only after the change of leadership in Armenia when Ter-Petrosyan
resigned and Robert Kocharyan came to power in 1998.

Since then the ARF has been loyal to Kocharyan and irreconcilable
with Ter-Petrosyan.

It is unlikely that these contradictions will be overcome. The Heritage
party has repeatedly tried to undertake the mission for reconciling
the foes. Its leader Raffi Hovannisian, who served as independent
Armenia’s first foreign minister in 1992, has repeatedly pronounced
for concerted action despite differences. But his calls have so far
fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, some form of unity in the opposition may change the
political lineup in the country. Heritage’s Martirosyan hinted that
the Friday negotiations resulted in “approximate, rough agreements”.

He said a political forum with the participation of the forces that
supported the initiative of Heritage and ARF was planned. The ANC
was among the forces that backed the initiative in question.

Martirosyan is far from expecting the emergence of an opposition
bloc as a result of current discussions, but he sees an opportunity
for an alliance in terms of cooperation. Representatives of other
opposition parties also mostly rule out the establishment of a single
electoral bloc.

STYOPA SAFARYAN’S LETTER TO AXEL FISCHER AND JOHN PRESCOTT

hetq
14:39, January 16, 2012

To Mr. Axel Fischer (Germany, EPP/CD)
Mr. John Prescott (United Kingdom, SOC),
Co-rapporteurs for Armenia of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE),
EU Ambassadors in Armenia

Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen,
Parliamentary elections slated for May 2012 will not only be a next
democratic test for Armenia, but also a demonstration of political
will and commitment to democratic perspective for the country.

In the course of two decades of Armenia’s independence, electoral
processes have never been accepted with deep satisfaction either by
Armenia’s society or international community. They have never been
assessed as “fully complying with international standards,” and in
domestic political life often ended with bloody tragedies as was the
case with the 2008 presidential elections.

On the one hand, as asserted by numerous distinguished international
organizations, politics and business are coalesced in Armenia, on
the other hand, in political system a “winner takes it all” attitude
stated in the provision 6.1 of PACE Resolution 1609 (2008) on “The
Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Armenia”-these circumstances
not only turned political life and elections into competition between
criminal oligarchic groups, but also as “winners in the competition”
they “take all” starting from national wealth up to the “endowment”
of national and constitutional rights to their holders. In such
a system political actors are impelled to play a backstage role,
many of whom-either forced or on voluntary basis-at best serve as a
facade for “democratic” fraud by criminal oligarchic groups.

Current trends of the political system and in this regard the
corruption of electoral processes are more promoted and strengthened
due to the availability of the majoritarian component in the
mixed electoral system of Armenia. The overwhelming majority of 41
single-seat constituencies with minor exceptions make fertile ground
for the representatives of groups of various calibers to enter the
Parliament and to predetermine the apolitical nature of the latter.

Those who appeared in the Parliament via the majoritarian system
were and are the candidates of incumbent political authorities. The
status quo is established between them through the following scheme:
through the single-seat holders the ruling forces form a majority
in the Parliament, while the deputies in return for their mandates
ascertain their loyalty through not laying obstacles in the way of
the policy carried out by the regime.

It is this electoral system that deepens the vicious practice of
vote buying, giving sense to unprecedented auction among apolitical
oligarchic groups for the voter’s support, where political programs and
political activities are absent, and political parties and candidates
are not competitive.

Ladies and Gentlemen, On December 27, 2011, the Heritage and Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF), parliamentary opposition parties,
issued a joint proposal to ensure the abolition of majoritarian
electoral system and transition to a 100 percent proportional one. Our
move was hailed by approximately a dozen of extra-parliamentary
political forces such as Armenian National Congress (ANC), “Free
Democrats” party, “Turning Point” party, People’s Party (PP),
Armenian Ramkavar Liberal Party (ADL), National Democratic Party
(NDP), Socialist Labor Party of Armenia (SLPA), United Labour Party
(ULP), Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA), as well as numerous civic
groups and scholars.

The Heritage and ARF first put into circulation a package of ten
proposals for the provisions subject to change, including one on
proportional system already on August 4, 2010, ahead of launch of
constitutional amendments to the Electoral Code. The package was
sent to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice
Commission) for an expert opinion.

According to the latter, the political decision on the adoption of
any kind of electoral system is up to the political forces of Armenia.

Unfortunately, these and other proposals made by two opposition
factions were not included in the Electoral Code adopted on May
26, 2011. Meanwhile, our consistent aim to have 2012 parliamentary
elections got rid of the above-mentioned vices, deeply rooted in
practice, forced the parliamentary opposition to reassert that
proposal.

To note, according to the paragraph 6 of Resolution 1837 “The
functioning of democratic institutions in Armenia” as of 2011 adopted
by PACE, the forthcoming parliamentary elections are considered to
be crucial for the democratic development of Armenia. “Democratic
elections which result in a parliament that reflects all the
relevant political forces in the Armenian society will consolidate
the normalisation of the political environment and ensure the trust
of the Armenian public in the political institutions of their country.”

The implementation of the international and domestic commitment
undertaken by Armenia seems currently feasible through ruling out
criminal oligarchic groups from the political arena and shifting
competition to a 100 percent proportional system. For the purposes
to bring this legislative initiative into life there is no need
for constitutional amendments as it is often misrepresented, and we
have enough time. The ball is in the ruling regime court to exert
political will for the execution of the proposal largely supported
by the opposition.

In his New Year’s address to the nation, President Serzh Sargsyan
reflected on the upcoming elections. “As you know, next year is also
a year of the elections to the National Assembly. On many instances,
elections have been perceived, and I underline that it’s about
perception of some, only as an opportunity to grip or retain power.

It’s high time to realize that there are much more eminent goals. I
have made my personal decision long ago – to do my best to get rid
of those flawed stereotypes, to enroot principles of truly national
and truly state approaches in the political life. I make no secret
that to do that I have needed help and I still need help.” If the
President is committed to normalizing the political environment and
realizing systemic changes, the best indicator of the latter will
be the adoption of political decision on the abolishment of the
majoritarian electoral system.

In this regard, PACE adopted Resolution 1837 as of 2011, the 6.2
provision of which considers that “the new Electoral Code forms an
adequate basis for the conduct of democratic elections, if implemented
in good faith, but urges the authorities to address all recommendations
and shortcomings that may be contained in the forthcoming opinion of
the Venice Commission on the code as adopted”.

The above-mentioned joint final opinion “On the Electoral Code of
Armenia,” adopted on 26 May, 2011, by Venice Commission and OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR),
states that “the Electoral Code would benefit from further improvement
in order to ensure full compliance with OSCE commitments, Council of
Europe and other international standards for the conduct of democratic
elections. Areas which could be addressed include: Removing excessive
restrictions on candidacy rights; Ensuring a separation of state and
party/candidate structures; Allocation of seats to marzes; Critically
assess the use of new voting technologies for out-of-country voters;
Improving provisions for the count and tabulation process, including
the determination of election results; and Improving complaint and
appeal procedures to better ensure an effective remedy”.

Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR also expressed readiness to assist
national authorities in their efforts to improve the legal framework
for elections.

Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen, With this thorough analysis we appeal
to you to contribute to the process of amending the Electoral Code
and adopting the joint initiative by Heritage-ARF-a 100 percent
proportional electoral system-backed by more than a dozen political
forces.

Thank you in advance for cooperation.

Styopa (Stepan) Safaryan Head of the Heritage Parliamentary Faction

ARMENIA FOR PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS CONCERNING IRAN’S NUKE PROGRAM

NEWS.am
January 16, 2012 | 13:29

YEREVAN.- Armenia stands for peaceful settlement of the situation over
Iran, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told journalists on Monday.

“Armenia always stressed necessity of peaceful solution to the problems
over Iran’s nuclear program which should be settled based on dialogue
and talks,” Nalbandian said.

According to him, position of the official Yerevan was presented to
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his recent visit to Armenia.

Presently, the Armenian side simply confirms its position, he added.

TURKEY’S ARGUMENTS AGAINST GENOCIDE BILL UNTENABLE – ARMENIAN FM

NEWS.am
January 16, 2012 | 14:38

YEREVAN.- Turkey’s arguments against adoption of a Genocide bill by
the French Senate are untenable, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian told journalists on Monday.

“The arguments presented by the Turkish side are weak, to put
it mildly,” he said. According to him, the Turkish side states
adoption of the bill can hamper normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations. However, the major obstacle is Turkey’s position.

Moreover, Turkey’s arguments on economic interests and interconnection
between the bill and Ankara’s possible role in the region are hints
at corruption, not only blackmail.

French parliament adopted on December 22 a bill criminalizing genocide
denials, including the Armenian Genocide. The bill will be debated
by French Senate on January 23.