Author: Badalian Vardan

ARMENIA’S RULING PARTY “DEFEATED” THE OPPOSITION, ELECTIONS, PEOPLE ALIKE – OPPOSITION MP

news.am
February 13, 2012 | 12:58

YEREVAN. – The losers in the elections must have a political will to
congratulate the winning nominee, the ruling coalition’s Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) MP Karen Avagyan stated, during a press
conference on Monday, reflecting on Sunday’s mayoral elections in
Hrazdan city.

In his words, these elections demonstrated that all political parties,
which supported Sasun Mikayelyan, were unable to achieve victory,
even by taking advantage of the privileges which the new Electoral
Code had endowed.

In his turn, the press conference’s other speaker, opposition Heritage
Party Parliamentary Faction leader Stepan Safaryan responded by noting
that in reality RPA “defeated” the opposition, the elections, and the
people alike, since the mechanism of election bribe was put into use.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, as a result of the mayoral
elections held Sunday in Armenia’s Hrazdan City, Aram Danielyan-the
incumbent Mayor and RPA member-defeated Sasun Mikayelyan-the former
MP and Mayor, and opposition Armenian National Congress member.

According to final results of the elections, Danielyan received 13,079
votes, and Mikayelyan gathered 11,506 votes.

All through the day, Sasun Mikayelyan’s campaign headquarters was
informing about cases of voting fraud and election bribes, whereas
Aram Danielyan’s headquarters was refuting this information.

The voter turnout was at 57.86 percent.

Sasun Mikayelyan’s campaign headquarters announced that it will not
appeal the election results.

LE SECTEUR AGRICOLE SE DEVELOPPE DANS LE PAYS
Laetitia

armenews.com
lundi 13 fevrier 2012

Le ministre de l’Agriculture, Sergo Karapetian, a declare vendredi
10 fevrier que le secteur agricole aujourd’hui en difficulte va se
developper dans les annees a venir, après une expansion de plus de 14%
enregistree en 2011. Le ministre a promis une aide du gouvernement
aux agriculteurs.

” Les programmes qui sont mis en ~uvre par l’Etat, l’aide qui
est fournie aux agriculteurs et les directives du president sur le
developpement rural mèneront a une culture complète de nos terres
dans les cinq ans a venir, ce qui signifie en resume plus de revenus
pour les agriculteurs “, a declare Karapetian aux journalistes. Il a
cependant refuse de faire des projections de croissance solides pour
cette annee.

Selon le Service statistique national (SSN), la production agricole
armenienne a grimpe l’an dernier grâce a un quasi-doublement des
rendements en fruits et legumes ainsi que grâce a une hausse de près
de 35% de la production de ble et autres cereales. Des conditions
meteorologiques très defavorables ont eu des consequences defavorables
sur le secteur en 2010.

Karapetian a insiste pour que de meilleures performances du secteur
resulte d’une serie de mesures prises par le gouvernement. Il a
souligne que du ble de haute qualite et de graines d’orge devraient
etre distribue aux agriculteurs.

Selon le ministère de l’agriculture, 23.000 fermiers armeniens ont
recu l’an dernier des prets pour un total de 15 milliards de drams
(40 millions de dollars) avec des taux d’interet entre 8 et 10% par
an. Le ministre a annonce vendredi que l’Etat va egalement acheter
des milliers de tonnes de carburant diesel et des engrais pour les
vendre aux agriculteurs a des prix inferieurs a celui du marche. Le
carburant sera vendu 350 drams le litre. Il coûte actuellement
environ 450 drams. Il n’a pas precise le montant total des depenses
du gouvernement pour les subventions agricoles.

Le gouvernement va acheter le diesel seulement a une societe
appartenant a un homme d’affaires repute proche du president Serge
Sarkissian. Karapetian a egalement declare que le gouvernement
continuera a promouvoir la creation de cooperatives rurales. Le
gouvernement envisage de promulguer une loi speciale a cet effet.

Le Premier ministre Tigran Sarkissian a declare que 55 cooperatives
seraient mis en place d’ici la fin de l’annee 2012 dans la plupart
des communautes a faible revenu situes dans les zones montagneuses.

L’elevage bovin est la principale forme d’activite agricole dans
ces zones.

L’Armenie compte environ 403 000 hectares de terres arables appartenant
a 340 000 personnes qui sont pour la plupart de modestes agriculteurs.

LES INTEMPERIES PERTURBENT LE TRAFIC DANS TOUT LE PAYS
Laetitia

armenews.com
lundi 13 fevrier 2012

D’importantes chutes de neige ont bloque le trafic aerien ainsi que
les autoroutes en Armenie vendredi 10 fevrier.

Les chutes de neige, qui ont commence a tomber le jeudi soir
se sont intensifiees dans la nuit et ont contraint l’aeroport ”
Zvartnots ” d’Erevan d’annuler ou de retarder tous les vols tôt le
matin. Le service aerien a en partie repris en fin d’après-midi. Des
perturbations similaires ont ete signalees a l’aeroport de Gyumri.

Selon le ministère armenien des Situations d’urgence, les cols de
montagne et plusieurs sections de routes a travers le pays etaient
impraticables. Le ministère a averti qu’il etait dangereux de pratiquer
les routes. Il a declare que les autorites font de leur mieux pour
rouvrir toutes les routes a la circulation.

Les chutes de neige ont egalement cause d’importantes perturbations
dans Erevan. Dans une rue principale menant au quartier Nor Nork,des
centaines de voitures etaient bloquees dans une epaisse couche de
neige. Un porte-parole de la municipalite d’Erevan a insiste pour que
180 chasse-neige et autres vehicules de deneigement soient deployes
dans diverses parties de la ville pour faire face aux conditions
meteorologiques extremes.

New Government believed to be formed

10:43 11/02/2012 » Daily press review

`Hraparak’ daily has been informed that although parliamentary
elections have not yet started, president’s administration has planned
certain changes in government structure.

According to rumors minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan will be
appointed as Deputy PM, Chief of Police Vova Gasparyan will get
defense minister’s mandates and Minister of Emergencies Armen
Yeritsyan will become Chief of Police.

Source: Panorama.am

High voter activity, alleged minor irregularities as mayoral vote progresses in Hrazdan

12.02.12

By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter, reporting from Hrazdan

Election officials report a high voter turnout midway through a
continuing mayoral poll in Hrazdan where supporters of the two rival
candidates have alleged only few separate irregularities in the
process so far.

The Election Commission in District 25 says more than a third of
Hrazdan’s nearly 44,000 eligible voters cast their ballots by 2 pm – a
fairly high voter activity for a local election, especially
considering the cold weather conditions and icy roads in most parts of
the town.

At least the early figures from Hrazdan appear to favorably compare to
those reported from some other communities where local elections are
being held today.

This situation, perhaps, reflects the keen competition in the town,
some 50 kilometers to the north-east of capital Yerevan, where the
incumbent mayor, Aram Danielyan, who has the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia behind him, is being challenged by Sasun Mikayelyan, a
charismatic Karabakh war veteran, former Hrazdan mayor and ex-lawmaker
now affiliated with the main opposition Armenian National Congress.

ArmeniaNow’s reporter spent some time at polling station 25/15 where
Mikayelyan’s proxy Myasnik Malkhasyan spoke about some irregularities
during the vote, but acknowledged that at least until early afternoon
the voting was proceeding calmly.

He, in particular, mentioned an incident in which some of the unused
ballot papers had to be canceled after certain marks were noticed on
them. In another case an election official `assisted’ a voter in
marking a ballot after the latter claimed to be experiencing some
sight problems. That ballot was canceled, however, and the voter was
allowed to vote again, this time marking the ballot paper and casting
it by himself. Malkhasyan also repeated the earlier complaints
connected with some of the ink pads and stamps that appeared to have
been used before (but should be new, according to what the law
says). The opposition candidate’s proxy was not satisfied with the
replaced ink pads, either.

Hrach Husikyan, the head of the polling precinct commission in
question, explained that the problem with some of the ink pads was
connected with low air temperature rather than their being used
before. On the whole, he said, the voting in his station was
proceeding well, without any extraordinary incidents.

Meanwhile, Kotayk governor Kovalenko Shahgeldyan, who has openly
backed the incumbent mayor in the race, claimed that a man attempted
to vote with someone else’s passport at polling station 25/19 and that
this man was a Mikayelyan supporter. The head of the election
commission in the mentioned precinct denied any such incident, as did
the representative of Mikayelyan at the precinct.

The current local elections and, in particular, the mayoral vote in
Hrazdan are viewed by many as a litmus test for the Armenian political
leadership’s commitment to hold a clean vote in the parliamentary
elections due in May.

While the process monitored by several observer groups and held amid
close media attention in Hrazdan appears to be going well so far, some
in the opposition and also among ordinary people in the street fear
lest the fairness of the vote be jeopardized by the vote counting that
is due to start after polling stations close at 8:00 pm.

The preliminary results in the vote are expected to become available
on Monday morning.

International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism supports Genocide law

news.am
February 11, 2012 | 04:06

At the end of its federal council session the International League
Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) voted for supporting the
French bill criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide with a
majority of votes, the French organization informed Nouvelles
d`Armenie.

To note, this refutes the information that LICRA were against the genocide bill.

There is a chance of breakthrough in the Karabakh issue, ex-US Envoy
Matthew Bryza says

armradio.am
11.02.2012 14:27

`It’s a huge mistake to explicitly say there is no connection at all
between Turkish-Armenian normalization and a settlement to the Nagorno
Karabakh problem. I always believed that the two issues will help each
other; as there is progress on the Turkish-Armenian front, that will
help create progress on Karabakh and progress on Nagorno Karabakh will
help normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia,’ ex-US Ambassador
to Azerbaijan and former Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew
Bryza said in an interview with Hurriyet Daily News.

`The Turkish leadership realizes that by opening the border with
Armenia totally outside the context of Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey was
moving in a new direction because Turkey closed the border in the
context of the NK conflict. Azerbaijanis will never forget that.
Azerbaijanis have significant political influence in Turkey,’ he said.

Bryza said he believes there has been an evolution in Turkey’s
approach to the Armenian genocide. `There has been a progression.
There is more acceptance of an open discussion of what happened. I
think the Hrant Dink murder was a huge awakening for millions of
Turks. It’s not just the government, it’s society that has moved
forward to consider that terrible killings were committed by Ottoman
troops. But what has not changed at all for legitimate reasons is the
firm Turkish view that this should not be recognized politically as
genocide.’

Matthew Bryza says there is a chance of breakthrough in the Karabakh
issue. `There has been huge progress. The sides are extremely close to
a breakthrough. There are a couple of core, key details that can only
be agreed upon if the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan make a very
difficult and risky political decision. They would not do that until
they feel they receive political support from the U.S. and France.’

La Repubblica, Italia
10 febbraio 2012

Unicef, le riforme sociali in Armenia e l’equità delle politiche sui bambini

Qui i più poveri sono tra i poveri. L’esperienza dell’Agenzia delle
Nazioni Unite nel paese dell’Asia occidentale (a medio reddito) dove
il lavoro degli operatori concentra l’attenzione su interventi che
garantiscano parità di accesso ai servizi sociali. Relazioni dirette
con il governo su programmazione finanziaria e trasparenzadi

CHIARA LUTI

ROMA – Non è una novità che siano sempre i bambini, in ogni parte del
mondo, a pagare il prezzo più alto della povertà. Ma se il paese in
cui si trovano è uno di quelli considerati “a medio reddito” dalla
comunità internazionale, quel prezzo assume anche un altro
significato: quello della laconicità di certe definizioni, che poco o
niente rivelano della qualità della vita e dell’accesso a servizi
essenziali come la cura, l’educazione, la salute. L’Armenia è,
appunto, un paese “a medio reddito”; segnata da una condizione di
conflitto latente (si pensi alla situazione di “guerra fredda”
permanente con l’Azerbaijan per il controllo del territorio del
Nagorno Karabakh), ha visto in realtà, nel corso degli anni che sono
seguiti all’indipendenza del 1992, un drastico declino economico e il
deteriorarsi delle infrastrutture sociali. Il PIL pro-capite è di
3.000 dollari l’anno (circa un decimo di quello italiano), e la
crescita esponenziale della diseguaglianza tra una piccola élite
coinvolta in affari e politica e il resto della popolazione – che in
molte aree del paese vive in estrema povertà – getta la sua ombra
lunga sulle vite dei bambini.

Lo sa bene l’UNICEF 1. Che è presente nel paese da diversi anni, che
avverte come siano proprio loro, qui, la categoria più vulnerabile,
nonostante una cultura fortemente tradizionale, che vede la famiglia
come elemento determinante
nell’organizzazione sociale. L’indice di povertà per il 2010 raggiunge
il 38% della popolazione, e il 41% dei bambini; tra le famiglie con
quattro figli o più, la povertà riguarda il 70%. La situazione si fa
allarmante se si prende in esame i bambini disabili, che sono più
della metà dei 5.000 ancora ospitati in istituti residenziali: per
loro non c’è molta scelta: sono costretti, nel migliore dei casi, a
frequentare scuole “speciali”, anch’esse per la maggior parte
residenziali perché concentrate solo in alcune aree del territorio, in
particolare nella capitale, Yerevan.

La de-istituzionalizzazione. Lo sforzo di Unicef è quello di
indirizzare le riforme delle politiche sociali in una prospettiva di
progressiva de-istituzionalizzazione. “È un settore di recente
espansione per l’UNICEF 2, rispetto alle tradizionali aree di nostra
competenza: sanità e nutrizione, educazione, protezione dei bambini da
violenza e abuso”, osserva Cristina Roccella, dal 2009 coordinatrice
del programma Unicef in Armenia. “Negli ultimi anni, la nostra
attenzione si è concentrata sempre di più su interventi che
garantiscano soprattutto una maggiore equità di accesso ai servizi
sociali, con un avvicinamento ai settori della popolazione più poveri
e marginalizzati, attraverso un lavoro “mainstreaming” che – a
differenza di quel che fanno le Ong – si caratterizza per una
relazione diretta e costante con il governo e altre controparti, su
questioni direttamente legate alla programmazione finanziaria, alla
trasparenza del budget nei settori che riguardano il benessere di
bambini e famiglie, e la protezione sociale più in generale”.

La mancanza degli assistenti sociali. Nel 2010 il ministero del lavoro
armeno ha presentato un progetto di riforma dei servizi sociali,
ispirato dalle linee guida del Consiglio d’Europa, al quale l’Unicef
ha aderito con entusiasmo, nella convinzione che il maggiore elemento
di debolezza dei servizi di protezione sociale armeno consistesse
nella mancanza di una figura professionale di centrale importanza:
quella dell’assistente sociale. “In risposta alla richiesta del
ministero di aiutarli nel definire un modello di servizi sociali
integrati per l’Armenia, e di formare il personale da coinvolgere”,
ricorda Roccella, “mi sono rivolta a EducAid 3, una Onlus di Rimini
che promuove una formula di intervento che riassume l’essenza della
cooperazione internazionale: il coinvolgimento di operatori di servizi
di diversi paesi in uno scambio “alla pari” sulle loro esperienze
professionali. In Armenia, EducAid ha coinvolto manager e operatori
dei servizi sociali di Imola, che hanno realizzato seminari con
dirigenti, amministratori regionali e con operatori dei servizi
territoriali”.

Obiettivo: l’autonomia della famiglia. “Volevamo avviare una
sperimentazione che, invece di concentrarsi sulla prestazione di un
servizio predefinito, privilegiasse l’analisi dei bisogni delle
persone, ed il coinvolgimento di tutte le risorse possibili, formali e
informali, nella definizione di un progetto di supporto alla famiglia,
con l’obiettivo finale di una ritrovata autonomia della famiglia
stessa”. Una condivisione che secondo la rappresentante dell’Unicef
“ha consentito agli operatori armeni di comprendere sempre di più un
approccio che ribalta i parametri della relazione d’aiuto e permette
di ottenere risultati senza investimenti aggiuntivi”.

I risultati ottenuti. Un lavoro che sta dando i suoi frutti: in
Armenia sono aumentati i servizi di assistenza sanitaria neonatale e
di assistenza sanitaria primaria e secondaria all’infanzia; è iniziato
un processo di apertura all’educazione inclusiva, che consente aanche
a bambini disabili di frequentare la scuola assieme a tutti gli altri;
è stato ridotto il numero di bambini rinchiusi in istituto, mentre
crescono servizi comunitari di assistenza a minori e famiglie, che
coinvolgono spesso Ong locali. Ci sono adesso 63 scuole inclusive dove
sono iscritti 1700 bambini con disabilità. È inoltre aumentata la
produzione di dati sulla condizione infantile, con particolare
attenzione ai livelli di povertà.

“Ma i bambini non votano”. Avverte Roccella: “Non hanno voce in
capitolo, ed è per questo che la promozione dei loro diritti, compreso
quello di crescere in un ambiente familiare anche in assenza della
famiglia biologica, è un lavoro continuo, che va rafforzato per
evitare il calo di attenzione di politici e amministratori. Noi
cerchiamo di essere i loro sostenitori, i loro “avvocati” nel
significato inglese – advocate – del termine. Dobbiamo più in generale
renderci conto che i progressi nel welfare riguardano gli strati più
alti della popolazione, e non i gruppi più marginalizzati. Non a
caso, l’acronimo usato per indicare gli Obiettivi del Millennio 4
(MDG) viene spesso usato per un’altra espressione: Mind the
Development Gap, ovvero, con una traduzione un po’ forzata,
“attenzione ai buchi (o ai vuoti) dello sviluppo”. Vuoti nei quali
troppo spesso scorre la vita dei bambini”.

ANSA, Italia
11 febbraio 2012

Italia-Armenia: Sindaco Honsell riceve delegazione a Udine
Per il capoluogo friulano transitarono 100 mila armeni

(ANSA) – UDINE, 11 FEB – Il sindaco Furio Honsell oggi ha incontrato
in Municipio la ministra armeno per la Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan e
l’ambasciatore della Repubblica Armena in Italia Rouben Karapetian,
per celebrare la vicinanza della città e del Friuli. “Udine è sempre
stata sensibile alle tragedie dei popoli che, come quello armeno – ha
detto il sindaco – sono stati perseguitati e costretti all’esodo nel
corso della loro storia.Ieri abbiamo doverosamente ricordato l’esodo
delle popolazioni giuliane, fiumane e dalmate – ha proseguito – e i
100.000 profughi che transitarono per Udine. Siamo ugualmente vicini a
questo popolo per la sua tragedia”. (ANSA).

Institute for War and Peace Reporting IWPR, UK
CRS Issue 629
February 11, 2012 Saturday

Armenian Politicians Claim Credit for France’s Genocide Law

Others say French decision was not really influenced by Yerevan.

By Hasmik Hambardzumyan

As politicians in Armenia vie to prove they prompted France to pass a
genocide denial bill, some analysts say the vote probably had more to
do with French politics than any pressure coming out of Yerevan.

On January 23, France’s Senate approved a bill making it a criminal
offence to deny that a genocide of Armenians took place in Ottoman
Turkey in 1915-16. The lower house of parliament passed the bill in
December.

“This day will be written in gold letters, and not just in the history
of friendship between the French and Armenian peoples – it will enter
the global history of human rights and create fresh mechanisms for the
prevention of crimes against humanity,” Armenian foreign minister
Edward Nalbandyan wrote in a letter to his French counterpart.

The vote was the outcome of a process lasting over two decades, driven
along by France’s half-a-million-strong Armenian diaspora.

The law would need to be signed by President Nicolas Sarkozy for it to
come into force. He is in favour, but the bill has been put on hold
following a request by some lawmakers to have France’s top
constitutional body review its legality.

The Senate decision met with hostility from Turkey, which has always
denied that genocide took place.

Some 20 other countries have officially recognised the events of
1915-16 as an Armenian genocide, though far fewer have opted to
criminalise denial.

In Armenia, the Senate vote was met with delight, with a spontaneous
demonstration outside the French embassy.

Eduard Sharmazanov, spokesman for President Serzh Sargsyan’s ruling
Republic Party, seized the initiative in claiming a diplomatic
triumph.

“I can say that the Senate’s approval of this bill demonstrates that
the Armenian authorities headed by President Sargsyan have for all
these years pursued a flexible, a correct and most importantly a
pro-Armenian foreign policy,” he said.

Levon Zurabyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress disputed
the importance of the Yerevan government’s role, saying the decision
was prompted instead by lobbying from the Armenian diaspora, as well
as by France’s desire to take a lead on human rights issues and on
change in the Middle East.

“It was these specific factors that played the decisive role,” he
said. “It’s therefore immoral for the current Armenian regime to grasp
at the laurels for this historic decision.”

Most of the Armenians in France are descended from refugees who fled
the Ottoman Empire. The community is centred on Marseille, which at
100,000 has the largest Armenian diaspora group in Europe, and
numerous cultural centres, schools and churches.

Some French politicians argued against the bill on the grounds that
Sarkozy was using it to win the Armenian vote in the run-up to the
April election. Opinion polls show Sarkozy lagging behind socialist
rival Francois Hollande.

Giro Manoyan, a leading figure in Armenia’s opposition Dashnaktsutyun
party, said campaigning for the French presidential election had
undoubtedly been a significant factor in the vote, although by no
means the only one.

Richard Giragosian, a leading analyst and director of the Regional
Studies Centre in Yerevan, said the real driving forces behind the
decision had a lot to do with French politics, both domestic and
external.

“In many ways it was about French domestic politics – Sarkozy’s
re-election. It was also a way to damage Turkey’s attempt to join the
European Union. And there is France’s desire to enhance its role in
international politics,” he said.

Giragosian suggested that the French vote might ultimately be good
rather than bad for Armenian-Turkish relations.

The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations and the
border between them remains closed. Attempts at a rapprochement have
ground to a halt and there appears to be little impetus to revive it
at the moment.

“In the short term, because of Turkish over-reactions on the issue, it
makes diplomacy difficult,” he said. “In the medium term, however, it
may push Turkey towards restarting the normalisation of ties with
Armenia, for two reasons. First, because Turkey will start looking
east, rather than west towards the European Union. Second, Turkey may
opt to return to diplomatic engagement with Armenia as a way of
addressing the genocide issue, because it’s facing increasing pressure
over genocide recognition following the [French] vote.”

Hasmik Hambardzumyan is a journalist working for the
news site. Lusine Avagyan and Seda Muradyan from IWPR also contributed
material for this article.

Source: IWPR

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