Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIA WITHDRAWS PEACE ACCORDS WITH TURKEY FROM PARLIAMENT

Reuters
Feb 16 2015

By Hasmik Lazarian

(Reuters) – Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan said on Monday he
withdrew from parliament landmark peace accords with Turkey, setting
further back U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility
between the neighbors.

The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations and open their land border, trying to overcome the
legacy of the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The process had been deadlocked by nationalists on both sides,
and Ankara and Yerevan have accused the other of trying to rewrite
the texts and setting new conditions. Many Armenians want Turkey to
recognize the 1915 mass killings as genocide and pay reparations,
proposals Ankara balks at.

Neither parliament has approved the deal, which would bring huge
economic gains for poor, landlocked Armenia, burnish Turkey’s
credentials as an EU candidate and boost its clout in the strategic
South Caucasus.

“We were ready for a fully-fledged settlement in our relations
with Turkey by ratifying these protocols, but we were also ready
for failure,” Sarksyan said in a letter that had been sent to the
parliament, his press service said.

He blamed Turkey for “absence of the political will” in finding
solution.

“We have nothing to hide and it should be clear for the international
community whose fault it was that the last closed European border
was not open,” he said.

Armenia, a country of 3.2 million, is approaching the 100th-anniversary
of the killings, when tens of thousands lay flowers at a hilltop
monument in the capital on April 24th.

U.S. President Barack Obama will issue a statement to mark the
anniversary of the massacres, a defining element of Armenian national
identity and thorn in the side of Turkey.

Muslim Turkey accepts many Christian Armenians died in partisan
fighting beginning in 1915 but denies that up to 1.5 million were
killed and that it amounted to genocide — a term used by some Western
historians and foreign parliaments.

(Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

ARMENIAN BUSINESSMAN COMMITS SUICIDE

YEREVAN, February 16. / ARKA /. An Armenian businessman, head of a
large construction company Hamlet Amirkhanyan was found dead in his
country house on Monday, Pastinfo reported. According to preliminary
information, the businessman committed a suicide by shooting himself.

Earlier media reports said that several high-ranking officials who
bought apartments in a residential building at Sayat-Nova 40 in the
center of Yerevan, built by Amirkhanyan’s company, could lose their
apartments because they were mortgaged at a bank.

Despite Amirkhanyan’s claims that the problem would be resolved soon
the owners of apartments could not register them.-0-

US PRESIDENT HOLDS ILLOGICAL POLICY IN RELATION TO AZERBAIJAN

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Feb 16 2015

16 February 2015, 17:43 (GMT+04:00)

US President Barack Obama holds an illogical policy towards partners
and allies of the country, in particular in relation to Azerbaijan,
senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns
Hopkins University (US), former senior official in the State Department
and National Security Council David Merkel said.

“When the Obama Administration speaks correctly of the importance
of the territorial integrity of Ukraine but does not say the same
with regard to Azerbaijan it is easy to understand why many see that
as a double standard,” he said. “Our policy going forward should be
abundantly clear on territorial integrity.”

The diplomat said that the Obama Administrations lack of action to
work for a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict shows
a lack of leadership and understanding of the importance of the issue
for those displaced, those waiting for the development of the region
and the importance of the issue to the stability of the region.

“This coupled with the ill-advised and failed Russia Reset demonstrates
how little thought has been put into developing the policy for
Eurasia,” he said.

The diplomat said that doing less will only encourage greater Russian
adventurism and instability.

“Unfortunately, Barak Obama has never taken the time to understand
others interests, opinions or values,” Merkel said. “Unlike his
predecessors he has not developed a personal relationship with other
world leaders or learned much of their history, customs, values
or interests.”

“In foreign policy he is widely thought to be the worst foreign policy
president since Jimmy Carter who was in office when our diplomats were
held as hostages in Iran and the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan,”
he said.

“In the final two years of his presidency, Barak Obama will have the
longest period of what is called in Washington a Lame Duck President,”
Merkel said. “This means that while he still holds the office no one in
Washington is looking to him to set the agenda or provide leadership.”

The diplomat said that the Obama Administration also, has never
demonstrated a strategic vision for clearly laying out US interests
leaving the world surprised, disappointed or frustrated with American
action or inaction.

“President Obama’s word is no longer trusted,” he said. “From drawing
a red line on Syrian chemical weapons and not following through to
the shifting sand of Iranian negotiations with out keeping Congress
and our valuable allies informed leaders can not count on an assurance
from the Obama Administration.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in
1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

LEADERSHIP OF 102ND RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA TO BE REPLACED

by Marianna Lazarian

Monday, February 16, 23:11

Commander of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia,
Colonel Andrey Rudzinkiy will leave his post, according to ArmInfo’s
sources at the military base.

In addition, the psychologist of the military base – who was
responsible for the consultation of the servicemen in the period of
the family murder in Gyumri – was dismissed as well.

A family of six was killed by Russian soldier Valery Permyakov in
Gyumri on Jan 12. The only survivor, six-month- old Seryozha Avetisyan,
who received stab wounds, died in hospital on Jan 19. On 14 January
Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they did not
discuss the issue of handing over of Permyakov to the Armenian party,
as according to the Russian legislation, a Russian citizen cannot be
handed over to another country. But after numerous protest actions
near the 102-nd Russian military base in Gyumri and the meeting at the
president’s residence, Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan
said that the investigation of the case will be held according to the
legislation of Armenia and Russia through comparing the legislative
acts of the two countries. He emphasized that the criminal will
be imprisoned at the territory of Armenia and the process will be
transparent in order to avoid public resonance. In line with the
decision of the Russian Military Garrison Court, Valery Permyakov was
arrested and charged with murder of two and more persons as well as
abandonment of post under arms.

FORUM 18 NEWS SERVICE, Oslo, Norway

The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief

===============================================
Monday 16 February 2015
AZERBAIJAN: NAKHICHEVAN DETENTIONS WITHOUT TRIAL, BEATINGS AND ATTEMPTED
KIDNAPPING

Three Muslims who read the works of the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi
were freed from prison on 11 February in the Azerbaijani exclave of
Nakhichevan. Two were seized in Nakhichevan and the third in Baku and
transferred to the exclave. All three were held without any court approval.
They were beaten to force them to “confess” to a “crime” (distributing
anti-government leaflets) one of their friends insisted to Forum 18 News
Service they had nothing to do with. Police have confiscated passports from
all three to prevent them leaving the exclave. A fourth fled to Turkey to
evade possible arrest, though Azerbaijani police tried to kidnap him there.
The Head of Nakhichevan’s Department for Work with Religious Organisations
Vuqar Babayev declined to discuss the cases with Forum 18. About six of the
200 or so Muslims arrested in November 2014 are still in detention, Yafez
Akramoglu of Radio Free Europe told Forum 18. Several are being
investigated on treason charges. Most of the 50 Nakhichevan mosques
forcibly closed in November 2014 have reopened, but under new leadership
“closer to the authorities”.

AZERBAIJAN: NAKHICHEVAN DETENTIONS WITHOUT TRIAL, BEATINGS AND ATTEMPTED
KIDNAPPING

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service

On 11 February three Sunni Muslims who read the works of the late Turkish
theologian Said Nursi were freed from prison in the Azerbaijani exclave of
Nakhichevan [Naxçivan], their friends told Forum 18 News Service. The three
had been held without any court approval for two and a half weeks and are
said to have been beaten. Police had seized one of the three in the
Azerbaijani capital Baku and forcibly put him on a flight to Nakhichevan.
Police have confiscated passports from all three to prevent them leaving
the exclave. It remains unclear if they will face prosecution and, if so,
for what reason.

A fourth Muslim fled to neighbouring Turkey to evade possible arrest.
Azerbaijani attempts to seize him back failed. An Azerbaijani consular
official in the Turkish city of Kars denied all knowledge of the case (see
below).

Meanwhile, at least six or seven of the 200 or so Muslims arrested in a
government crackdown in Nakhichevan in November 2014 are believed still to
be in detention, Yafez Akramoglu of Radio Free Europe told Forum 18 on 16
February 2015. One was sent to prison for two months, apparently without
trial, while two or three others are in prison under investigation on
treason charges (see below).

The telephone of Nakhichevan Interior Minister Ahmad Ahmadov went
unanswered each time Forum 18 called on 16 February. His deputy Qulu
Rustamov put the phone down on 16 February as soon as Forum 18 introduced
itself. The Head of Nakhichevan’s Department for Work with Religious
Organisations Vuqar Babayev declined to discuss the cases the same day,
referring all questions to the Interior Ministry.

“The men were targeted because of their religious activity,” one of the
three men’s friends insisted to Forum 18. “They read Risale-i Nur [Messages
of Light, Nursi’s collection of sermons]. Nakhichevan is a small place and
everyone knows this.”

The friend said fellow Muslims in Nakhichevan who read Nursi’s works “face
such problems at minimum once a year”. Forum 18 has been unable to find out
why they were targeted this time.

During the November 2014 mass arrests, about 60 Muslims who read Nursi’s
works were held only for a day or so before being freed (see F18News 4
December 2014 ).

Severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief

Nakhichevan – an autonomous territory of Azerbaijan on the Arax river
wedged between Armenia, Turkey and Iran – has a population of more than
400,000 and its own government and parliament. The autonomous territory’s
restrictions on people’s ability to exercise human rights, including
freedom of religion or belief and other political and social freedoms are
far tighter than in the rest of Azerbaijan. These include a de facto ban on
people exercising freedom of religion or belief who are Shia Muslims
outside state control, almost all Sunni Muslims meeting as communities, and
non-Muslims such as Baha’is, Seventh-day Adventists, Hare Krishna devotees,
or Russian Orthodox (see F18News 4 December 2014
).

Arrested or seized?

Police seized two of the three Muslims in Nakhichevan city, the capital of
the exclave, on 24 January, their friends – who asked not to be identified
for fear of state reprisals – told Forum 18. Police showed no warrant for
the men’s arrest and no court approved their detention.

At about the same time, police came to the Baku home of the third man, who
is originally from Nakhichevan but now lives and works in the Azerbaijani
capital. After seizing him they forcibly put him on a plane to Nakhichevan.
On arrival he was transferred to prison. “Officers gave no reason for his
detention and showed no documentation,” friends told Forum 18. “His family
didn’t know where he had been taken. Only when they asked the police did
they learn that he had been taken to Nakhichevan.”

The three men were taken to the Justice Ministry’s Pre-trial Detention
Centre in the village of Boyukduz in Kangarli District, 20 kms (12 miles)
north-west of Nakhichevan city.

Beaten, forced to confess

Once in detention, the three men were kicked and beaten “in various places”
and threats were made against their families, the men’s friends complained
to Forum 18. Police pressured them to sign statements confessing to
“crimes”. The men apparently did so as a result of what their friends
describe as “torture” and their “confessions” were filmed. Although their
friends believe the “confessions” were filmed for subsequent showing on
Nakhichevan television, they do not appear to have been broadcast yet.

Police officers were seeking “confessions” from the men that they were
responsible for an incident in 2013, when leaflets criticising
Nakhichevan’s rulers were thrown from a car window in central Nakhichevan
city. “But they had nothing to do with it,” the three men’s friends
insisted to Forum 18.

Police have long been under political pressure to find those responsible,
and others have earlier been pressured to admit to the “crime”, Akramoglu
of Radio Free Europe – a Nakhichevan native who was deported from the
exclave in 2011 – told Forum 18.

Released, but can’t leave Nakhichevan

The three men were released from prison on 11 February but, as their
passports have been seized, they are unable to leave the exclave. Their
friends do not know if they will face administrative or criminal
prosecution. The three men do not have a lawyer. “No lawyers in Nakhichevan
would dare to defend them,” one of their friends told Forum 18.

One who got away

Another Nakhichevan-based Muslim associated with the other three, Chingiz
Talibov, fled to neighbouring Turkey in late January to avoid what he
feared would be his detention, his friends told Forum 18.

Once in Turkey, he was contacted by the Azerbaijani Consulate in the town
of Igdir, 85 kms (50 miles) from the land border with Nakhichevan. His
friends say Consulate officials “tricked him” into coming to visit. Three
plain-clothed Azerbaijani police from Nakhichevan then tried to “kidnap”
him in an apparent attempt to return him forcibly to Azerbaijan. However,
Turkish police witnessed the kidnap attempt on the street and intervened to
protect him. The Turkish authorities then deported the three plain clothes
police officers back to Azerbaijan.

Nakhichevan police have in the past tried to kidnap in Turkey people from
Nakhichevan they wanted back, Akramoglu of Radio Free Europe told Forum 18.

After the failed kidnapping, the Nakhichevan authorities stepped up
pressure on Talibov’s family in an apparent attempt to force his return
home, his friends told Forum 18.

Ramin Yusubov, Vice-Consul at Azerbaijan’s Consulate in Kars (which
oversees the consular office in Igdir) claimed to Forum 18 on 16 February
that “we know nothing about this”. He insisted that Talibov “didn’t come to
the Consulate either in Kars or in Igdir”. And he added: “There was no
deportation by the Turkish authorities of any Azerbaijani police officers.
If there had, we would have known about it.”

Detention with no trial, investigation

During the mid-November 2014 crackdown, the authorities arrested about 200
Muslims. While most were released within one or two days (including about
60 Muslims who read Nursi’s works), up to 50 of the Muslims were apparently
still in detention in early December 2014. Up to 50 mosques – especially
those Nakhichevan’s authorities think are oriented towards Iran – appear to
have been forcibly closed after the arrests (see F18News 4 December 2014
).

However, all but six or seven of those detained are now believed to have
been released, Akramoglu of Radio Free Europe told Forum 18.

Two or three are reportedly being investigated on charges of treason and
contact with the Islamic State movement, which has gained ground in Syria,
Iraq and elsewhere, Akramoglu added. He said it is difficult to assess the
validity of such accusations.

One other of those remaining in detention is serving two months’ detention,
although the sentence does not appear to have been handed down by a court
and no specific allegations against him are known, Akramoglu told Forum 18.

New Mosque leadership “closer to the authorities”

Almost all the approximately 50 mosques forcibly closed in November 2014
have now reopened. “Most are under new leadership closer to the
authorities,” Akramoglu told Forum 18. “The authorities feared many of them
were too close to the Iranians.” Again, he said it was difficult to assess
the validity of the state’s accusations. The new imams were imposed on the
mosques by the new Multiculturalism and Religious Affairs Committee,
Akramoglu added.

The Multiculturalism Committee, established under an August 2014 Decree,
aims to promote religion “in the right direction”, control public rituals,
especially funerals, and counter “religious sects”, presumably within the
Muslim community (see F18News 4 December 2014
). Forum 18 was unable
to reach Committee Head Mirhashim Seyidov on 16 February 2015.

Forum 18 was unable to ask Babayev of Nakhichevan’s Department for Work
with Religious Organisations why the state-backed Multiculturalism
Committee interfered in the leadership of mosques. He had already put the
phone down before Forum 18 had the opportunity to ask.

“Everyone is of the Muslim religion”

Before he had ended the call, Babayev dismissed concerns Forum 18 has heard
from Nakhichevan over restrictions on freedom of religion or belief. “All
of the people in Nakhichevan are free to go to mosques or churches,” he
claimed. When Forum 18 pointed out that no non-Muslim places of worship –
whether Christian churches, Baha’i temples or places of worship of any
other faith – operate in Nakhichevan, he claimed: “There are no churches
because everyone in Nakhichevan is of the Muslim religion.”

The exclave’s authorities have long had a de facto ban on religious
activity by non-Muslim communities. Small groups of Baha’is, Seventh-day
Adventists and Hare Krishna devotees were banned from meeting in the 2000s.
Faik Farajov, then of the Department for Work with Religious Organisations,
told Forum 18 in January 2010 that no non-Muslim communities exist. “The
Adventists and Baha’is have all left,” he claimed (see F18News 21 January
2010 ).

Babayev said Shia Muslims make up 95 per cent of the population and Sunni
Muslims the rest. Asked why Sunni Muslims have difficulty maintaining
mosques, he said: “They must go to Shia mosques. Who wants a Sunni mosque?”
Told that Forum 18 has spoken to individuals who want to worship in a Sunni
mosque, he admitted that only one of the exclave’s 217 mosques is
Sunni-dominated, the Kazim Qarabakir Pasha Mosque in Nakhichevan city.

Also known as the Juma mosque, this was built in the 1990s by the Turkish
government’s Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs), which also named
its imam. However, the Nakhichevan authorities did not allow any Turkish
imam to lead the mosque after February 2011. The Mosque was under Shia
leadership for a while (see F18News 13 May 2011
).

When Forum 18 asked why the Nakhichevan authorities appear to believe that
they have the sole right to determine what places of worship of what faith
are allowed to function, Babayev put the phone down. Subsequent calls went
unanswered. (END)

For more background information see Forum 18’s Azerbaijan religious freedom
survey at .

More coverage of freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Azerbaijan is
at .

See also Norwegian Helsinki Committee/Forum 18 report on freedom of
religion or belief in Azerbaijan at:

A compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments can be found at
.

For a personal commentary, by an Azeri Protestant, on how the international
community can help establish religious freedom in Azerbaijan, see
.

A printer-friendly map of Azerbaijan is available at
.

All Forum 18 News Service material may be referred to, quoted from, or
republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the
source.

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.

YEREVAN WILL HOST A MEETING OF THREE OPPOSITION PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 16 2015

16 February 2015 – 1:37pm

Yesterday there was a meeting in Yerevan of the heads of the
‘Prosperous Armenia’, ‘Armenian National Congress’ and ‘Heritage’
parties – Gagik Tsarukyan, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Raffi Hovannisian –
to discuss the political situation in Armenia.

During the conversation, it was decided to convene a rally on February
20 in Yerevan, Trend reports.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told a meeting of the Council of
the ruling Republican Party of Armenia that Tsarukyan has become an
evil for the country as a politician. He also dismissed Tsarukyan
from National Security Council of Armenia, promising that a process
is beginning due to Tsarukyan’s periodic failures to appear at
parliamentary sessions.

GRANDFATHER WAS ‘GENOCIDE’ VICTIM

Belfast Telegraph, Ireland
Feb 16 2015

A Northern Ireland man who believes his grandfather was killed and
buried in an Armenian mass grave has called on the British and Irish
governments to recognise the deaths as genocide.

Paul Manook said his grandfather was lined up alongside other men in
a village in modern-day eastern Turkey by Ottoman Turkish soldiers
a century ago. He was never seen again.

Turkey denies Armenian claims that up to 1.5 million people died in
an act of genocide during the First World War when troops targeted
the Christian minority.

Dr Manook said: “Because of the geopolitics of the region the UK
does not want to touch this. Ireland is a small country, probably
they will follow the UK because they are a small country and there
are quite a lot of links together.”

Turkey has resisted widespread calls for it to recognise as genocide
the 1915-16 killings, which followed mass deportations, but apologised
for the deaths.

According to the UN, genocide involves acts intended “to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group”.

The dispute about whether deaths caused by the Ottomans represented
genocide centres on the degree to which the killings were orchestrated.

The most notorious example of genocide is the Nazis’ attempted
extermination of the Jews. This year’s Holocaust Memorial Day was
marked across Britain and Ireland.

Mr Manook, 64, from Millisle in Co Down, said his grandfather Manook
Dishchekenian was removed from his village along with many other men.

“They lined them up and took them.”

He said his father was then aged six.

“My grandmother realised immediately, she just took my dad and four
aunts and they escaped the village. My father was a survivor of
the genocide.”

He said the fate for men left behind was grim.

“I have a strong feeling that they must have killed them and buried
them in mass graves.”

Armenians mark the date April 24 1915 as the start of what they regard
as genocide.

In Turkey public debate on the issue has been stifled, using the law
to prosecute writers who highlight the mass killings.

However last month Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said:
“Having already underscored the inhumane consequences of the relocation
policies essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including
that of 1915, Turkey shares the suffering of Armenians and, with
patience and resolve, is endeavouring to re-establish empathy between
the two peoples.

“Our 23 April 2014 message of condolence, which included elements
of how, primarily through dialogue, we may together bring an end to
the enmity that has kept our relations captive, was a testament to
this determination.

“Only by breaking taboos can we hope to begin addressing the great
trauma that froze time in 1915. For its part, Turkey has transcended
this critical threshold and relinquished the generalisations and
stereotypical assertions of the past.”

Edward Horgan, a former UN soldier from Ireland and peace activist,
said a group of politicians from the Dail in Dublin was being created
to lobby on the issue.

“Clearly it is an issue of language but the fact is that the Turkish
government, who were not involved in the genocide, has consistently
denied and prosecuted people in Turkey for highlighting and proclaiming
it was a genocide, that does need to be addressed.”

Last year previous Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary, offered condolences for
the first time for the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule.

Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller than Armenian
estimates.

A spokesman for the London embassy said: “Turkey is legitimately
challenging the Armenian views of history. This is based on documents
in archives, many scholarly studies as well as the memory of millions
of people in Turkey.

“I would like to highlight that genocide is a clearly defined crime
with specific conditions of proof. There is no verdict given by
a competent court or whatsoever, labelling the events of 1915 as
genocide.”

Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay
recognise the conflict as genocide. The UK, US, Israel and others
use different names.

Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “While the
terrible suffering cannot be forgotten and we must continue to remember
and honour the victims of the past, we believe the UK’s priority
today should be to promote reconciliation between the peoples and
governments of Turkey and Armenia and to find a way for these two
countries to face their joint history together.”

Printed also in

TO TAKE OLIGARCHS AWAY TO MEAN HAVING 1-2 MPS AND EMPTY CABINET – SOS GIMISHYAN

17:00 / 16.02.2015

There is no political fight in Armenia, there are just arrangements
behind the stage, chairman of the Christian-Democratic Revival party
Sos Gimishyan told the reporters on Monday. In his words there is no
mandate in the NA given without the consent of Serzh Sargsyan.

Referring to the statements as if PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan is
avoiding paying taxes, Gimishyan stressed that al oligarchs do so. “It
sounds strange that the authorities voice this issue as there are
many people among them who avoid paying taxes,” he said.

Gimishyan said his wish is to see only political figures in the field.

“If the oligarchs are taken away from the NA, just one-two MPs will
stay there and the cabinet will be empty,” he stressed, adding that
the change of power is a must here but without blows.

“I consider Gagik Tsarukyan quite successful economic figure but not
political one. I hope it is not order from outside and no Maidan will
take place here. I think it will not last long, but I would like to
be mistaken and this political fight be just,” he said.

PAP MP Michael Melkumyan said that their team was not going to enter
the field of personal offences. “These processes must enter civilized
field. Is Gagik Tsarukyan guilty that no investments are being made
in Armenia, or that the unemployment rate is high,” he said, adding
that the PAP was opposition but wanted to make the changed gradually
without blows, but the recent developments accelerated the process.

“We have chosen the path of snap elections. One thing was not taken
into consideration – the people are ignored. The people mobilized over
non-governmental forces, over Gagik Tsarukyan. The authorities saw
that there is no corridor for reaching arrangement over Constitutional
changes which resulted in the created situation,” he said.

The PAP MP said that the people are by their side. Asked whether
Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan is engaged in the process,
Melkumyan said, “Robert Kocharyan is periodically coming up with his
concerns and observations. He is concerned with the situation in the
country but I cannot say whether he is in the process or not.”

GEORGIA STANDS BY THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE’S SIDE NO MATTER WHAT-USUPASHVILI MEETS WITH GALUST SAHAKYAN

14:49, 16 February, 2015

YEREVAN, 16 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. Georgia and Armenia share the view
that peace in the region needs to be achieved through negotiations,
not weapons. This is what Speaker of the National Assembly of Georgia
Davit Usupashvili declared during a press conference following
negotiations with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Armenia Galust Sahakyan. “We discussed the situation in the region
and shared the view that relations in the region need to be hinged
on friendship. We also shared the view that the arms race needs to
be stopped, and that peace needs to be achieved through negotiations,
not weapons,” Usupashvili mentioned, as “Armenpress” reports.

Usupashvili emphasized the fact that the Georgians and the Armenians
have fought side-by-side for freedom for centuries and assured that
at this moment, Georgia also stands by the Armenian people’s side
no matter what. “We stand by your side and share your sorrow over
the tragedy that took place in Gyumri,” the Georgian parliamentary
speaker declared.

EACH ACTION AGAINST THE PAP LEADER WILL BE VIEWED AS POLITICAL PERSECUTION – ROBERT KOCHARYAN

18:18 / 16.02.2015

2rd.am has published an interview with Armenia’s second president
Robert Kocharyan over the created domestic political situation.

– Mr President, how can you explain the situation created between the
Republican party and the PAP? How will you explain the developments
that have taken place?

– I cannot explain why the president needed it. If they thought
that by pressing Gagik Tsarukyan they will reach the elimination of
the PAP they failed. Just the opposite, the opposition has obviously
started consolidation process. Neither did the authorities managed to
discredit the PAP due to the unconvincing hypotheses they brought up.

Each action against the PAP leader will be viewed as political
persecution which is not legitimate. Taking into consideration
the degree of social tension and dissatisfaction in the country as
well as the trust of people toward the PAP and its leader, the more
optimistically the authorities try to “clean” the political field,
the stronger will the consolidation against the authorities be and the
stronger the prospect of political blows will be. It is not difficult
to predict how it all will affect our economy, the situation on the
line of contact, on the conduction of events dedicated to the Armenian
Genocide centennial.

– Mr President, it seems that all this may really blow the domestic
political situation. Do the authorities have a way out of the
situation?

– I think they still have it. They should stop and not apply active
administrative actions against the PAP leader, remain just in the
oral fight, return to the political platform with their opponents. The
intentions voiced by the ruling party at the sitting of the political
council do not fit in the limits of the Armenian Constitution and
make the PAP and the opposition in general conduct mass rallies the
consequences of which are unpredictable. The arrests and repressive
actions will lead the country to deeper and long lasting crisis. Our
country is overloaded with serious problems and the solution is
possible only in case of consolidation and restoration of trust of
people toward the future. Unfortunately, what happened became a strong
signal in the opposite direction.