Author: Badalian Vardan

5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES DEBATE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE IN FIRST TELEVISED DEBATE

Candidates for the Massachusetts 5th District Congressional seat in the
2013 special election, left to right: State Sen. Will Brownsberger,
D-Belmont, State Sen. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, Middlesex County
Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, of Waltham, State Rep. Carl Sciortino,
D-Medford, and State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.

By Shira Schoenberg, The Republican on October 08, 2013 at 7:00 PM,
updated October 08, 2013 at 10:00 PM

With much agreement and a few skirmishes, five of the Democratic
candidates running for the 5th District congressional seat discussed
topics ranging from the federal government shutdown to U.S. government
surveillance in their first and only televised debate.

Tuesday’s debate, which was broadcast on New England Cable News and
moderated by NECN’s Jim Braude, came one week before voters head to
the polls for the Oct. 15 primary. The debate featured state Sens.

Karen Spilka, Katherine Clark and William Brownsberger, Middlesex
County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian and State Rep. Carl Sciortino. Several
times, Brownsberger was the odd man out, disagreeing with his opponents
on issues including negotiating with Republicans and an amendment
regarding government surveillance.

The candidates met as the federal government remained shut down for a
second week due to a budget dispute. Congressional Republicans refuse
to pass a spending bill that does not delay funding for Democratic
President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, which Senate Democrats
will not agree to.

All the candidates but Brownsberger said they would not negotiate on
any Republican demands. “We cannot give in to extremist Republicans
who are holding our economy hostage,” Clark said.

Spilka compared congressional Republicans to “a two year old having
a temper tantrum, when we tell the parents don’t cave in.” “What if
we went to Republicans and said we’re not going to do a budget unless
you pass gun safety, unless you pass immigration reform?” Spilka said.

“They would not put up with that.”

Brownsberger said he did not know the solution to a budget deal,
but he would be willing to negotiate on repealing the medical device
tax, a part of the Affordable Care Act that Brownsberger and several
Massachusetts politicians oppose, in order to prevent the country
from going over a financial cliff. “When push comes to shove, are you
going to let it go over the cliff?” Brownsberger asked his opponents.

Sciortino responded that he would support Obama if the president were
to rely on a constitutional provision to unilaterally raise the debt
ceiling – something Obama says he will not do.

Clark, Spilka, Koutoujian and Sciortino all disagreed with Obama’s
willingness to means test Medicare and adopt a new formula that lowers
Social Security cost of living adjustments. Koutoujian suggested
raising the Social Security payroll cap, so the wealthy pay more
benefits – something all five Democrats then said they support. Clark
and Koutoujian talked about the need to rein in health care costs,
while Spilka said government can negotiate better prescription drug
prices and introduce standardized coding and billing.

Brownsberger would not support means testing, saying it introduces
a “whole new bureaucracy.” He did not address Social Security, but
he has said in the past he would not necessarily oppose the use of
“chained CPI” in the context of Social Security reform.

All the candidates except Brownsberger said they would have
supported the Amash amendment, which would have stopped the National
Security Agency from blanket surveillance of Americans and allowed
the government to only collect phone records from people under
investigation. “There’s always tension between our personal privacy
and civil liberties and security, and frankly, as a country, we’ve gone
too deep into the road of violating civil liberties,” Sciortino said.

Brownsberger said the Amash amendment did not go far enough because
it only addressed collection of metadata, not collection of content
like actual emails. “We need a more comprehensive resolution,” he said.

All the candidates criticized Brownsberger for refusing to oppose the
Keystone XL oil pipeline, a controversial pipeline that would carry
oil from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf Coast. Brownsberger has
said the focus should be on reducing carbon emissions, not targeting
projects like Keystone that can be “regionally divisive.”

Clark said Brownsberger is wrong. “The way we extract from the tar
sands is one of the dirtiest, most polluting (methods), and affects
climate change in a radical way,” Clark said.

All the candidates agreed on the need to bring down the cost of college
education. Spilka said there should be interest-free student loans so
anyone who wants to go to college can. Sciortino suggested free public
higher education for qualified students. Koutoujian and Brownsberger
said they support Obama’s plan to target federal money at colleges
that provide good value and have lower tuition. Brownsberger promoted
the use of online courses. Clark talked about the need to invest in
public education.

There were a few skirmishes. Brownsberger criticized Koutoujian for
voting for a resolution in the Massachusetts House that supported a
Supreme Court decision upholding an individual’s right to own guns
for self-defense and striking down Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban.

Koutoujian said he is “no friend of the NRA” and they “won’t like me
in Congress.”

Browsnberger criticized Sciortino for “raising three quarters of
his money outside of the state.” Sciortino attacked Brownsberger for
supporting the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allows
corporations to make unlimited political expenditures. Sciortino said
he is proud to have supporters around the country “who want to see
progressive leadership.”

On foreign policy, all the candidates were reluctant to back military
action if negotiations with Syria over the country’s chemical weapons
supply fall apart, though most of the candidates made clear that
their decisions would depend on circumstances.

Sciortino said military force should be “an absolute last resort,” and
the current diplomatic solution gives him hope that the U.S. avoided
all-out war in the Middle East.

Asked whether they would support military intervention to prevent
genocide, Spilka, who lost family in the Holocaust and whose father
helped liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp, said in the case
of genocide, the U.S. should build up international support “so all
the countries go in together.”

Koutoujian, the grandson of survivors of the Armenian genocide,
called genocide “an offense against humanity.” “We all have to have
a stake in that game,” Koutoujian said. “My people, Karen’s people,
suffered because the world stood by while genocide was occurring.”

OBSERVERS SAY AZERBAIJAN VOTE ‘SERIOUSLY FLAWED,’ OPPOSITION PLANS CHALLENGE

Ilham Aliyev submits his ballot

BAKU-Opponents of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Thursday
they would go to court to challenge his election for a third term,
rejecting the result of a vote that international monitors said was
seriously flawed.

Aliyev, who succeeded his father a decade ago as leader of the
oil-producing nation on the Caspian Sea, won a third five-year term
with nearly 85 percent of the vote in Wednesday’s election.

Standing before a national flag on state television, he thanked
Azeris for their support and said he would ensure security in the
South Caucasus, where tensions still simmer with neighboring Armenia
over a disputed territory.

Opposition candidate Jamal Hasanli said he would seek to challenge
the official result in the country’s Constitutional Court, alleging
violations including ballot stuffing and multiple voting. “This
election was neither free nor fair,” he said.

On Wednesday, the day of the elections, the Washington Post revealed
that the Azeri authorities had inadvertently released predetermined
election results a full day before voting had even begun.

Aliyev, 51, has overseen an economic boom that has raised living
standards in the country, which pumps oil and gas to Europe, bypassing
Russia. He has allowed Washington to use it as a transit point for
sending troops to Afghanistan.

But he has faced criticism at home and abroad over his treatment
of opponents. The media is tightly controlled, protests quashed,
and one rights group said a pre-election crackdown had doubled the
number of political prisoners.

International monitors from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, said the vote was marred by a
“restrictive media environment” and allegations of intimidation of
candidates and voters.

“The limitations placed on the fundamental freedoms of assembly,
association and expression; the lack of a level playing field; the
allegations of intimidation, all came in the lead-up to an election
day that our observers found to be seriously flawed,” OSCE official
Tana de Zulueta said.

Monitors reported clear indications of ballot stuffing at 37 polling
stations, and said the counting was assessed negatively at an
unprecedented 58 percent of stations observed.

An OSCE news conference degenerated into chaos as journalists from
pro-government media drowned out the observers and shouted “The OSCE
is biased.”

Hasanly, 61, a former lawmaker who has united Azerbaijan’s fractured
opposition for the first time in a presidential election, told
journalists: “When [officials] announce the final official results of
the election and declare Ilham Aliyev as the president, we will address
the Constitutional Court with a demand to cancel the election results.”

A gaping divide between the rich and poor and allegations of
corruption, which Azeris say pervades many aspects of life, has led
to an increase in protests, and the opposition is planning a rally
Saturday.

But few expect sustained protests over a vote whose results many
saw as a foregone conclusion because of Aliyev’s tight grip over the
South Caucasus nation of 9 million.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV AND TIGRAN SARGSYAN DISCUSS EXPANSION OF COOPERATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND THE CUSTOMS UNION

by Alexander Avanesov
Thursday, October 10, 12:10

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spoke over the telephone with his
Armenian counterpart Tigran Sargsyan.

As official website of the Russian government reported, they discussed
further expansion of cooperation between the Republic of Armenia
and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as
bilateral ties in the trade, economic and fuel and energy spheres.

CASINO NIGHT SUPPORTS LIFE-SAVING MISSION OF ABMDR

Thursday, October 10th, 2013

Event hosted by Michael and Amy Boyadjian LOS ANGELESâ?”More than
200 supporters attended the third annual Casino Night of the Armenian
Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR), held on the evening of September
27. The highly anticipated event was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Michael
and Amy Boyadjian at their home in Glendale, California.

After being greeted by the hosts and ABMDR representatives, guests
enjoyed delectable appetizers and an open bar across the sprawling,
beautifully decorated terrace, where a profusion of flowers and candles
set the evening’s tone. Following a sumptuous dinner, Michael and
Amy Boyadjian formally welcomed the attendees and thanked them for
their enthusiastic support of the ABDMR cause. “We firmly believe in
the humanitarian mission of this wonderful organization, which helps
save the lives of so many across the globe,” said Amy Boyadjian, a
member of the ABMDR Board of Directors and the 2013 ABMDR Woman of the
Year. Subsequently she invited Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of ABMDR,
to deliver remarks. “I’d like to thank Michael and Amy Boyadjian for
their gracious hospitality and generous support,” Dr. Jordan said,
and went on to convey her gratitude to the guests for making the
Casino Night one of ABMDR’s most successful fundraising events year
after year. Dr. Jordan also spoke about some of the organization’s
recent achievements. “Our lab in Yerevan has just completed a new
harvest of bone marrow stem cells from a donor and sent them to a
transplantation center in Germany, where one of our patients will
undergo a life-saving transplant,” she said.

“At this very moment,” Dr. Jordan continued, “we have among us a
donor who has been identified as a match for a patient in Portugal,
and she is ready to donate her stem cells to make possible that
patient’s transplant.”

A scene from the evening Subsequently, as Dr. Jordan wished good luck
to players, they were invited to take their seats at the casino-style
tables, which featured a variety of games including poker, roulette,
and black jack. The high level of excitement was complemented by
the gourmet offerings of a cigar and cognac bar. Guests also had the
opportunity to purchase lottery tickets in support of ABMDR.

Elsewhere on the terrace, a dance floor set up for the occasion
filled up with revelers who danced into the night to lively music
provided by a DJ. At the conclusion of the event, lottery winners
were announced and presented with great prizes. Established in 1999,
ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians worldwide survive
life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching
donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date,
the registry has recruited over 24,000 donors in 18 countries across
four continents, identified 2,135 patients, and facilitated 17 bone
marrow transplants.

ARF ATTENDS SI CONVENTION IN NEW YORK

Thursday, October 10th, 2013

Delegates at Socialist International’s 6th annual meeting

NEW YORK-Members of the Socialist International Presidium, heads of
state and government from Socialist International (SI) member parties,
heads of UN agencies, and international organizations and a number of
foreign ministers gathered at the United Nations headquarters in New
York on September 26 for the 6th annual meeting in conjunction with the
UN General Assembly. The meeting was chaired by SI President George
Papandreou, with participating members of the Presidium comprising
SI Secretary General Luis Ayala, and SI vice-presidents.

The main themes of the meeting were the latest developments in the
struggles to gain new democracies in the world, as in Syria and Egypt,
with a particular focus on peace, security and human rights; and the
social democratic commitment to end poverty and to establish equality.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was represented by Bureau
member and SI Vice President, Mario Nalbandian. Heads of state and
government present included the recently-elected President of Mali,
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, prime ministers Elio Di Rupo (Belgium) and Edi
Rama (Albania), both SI vice-presidents, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, prime
minister of Mauritius, and Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta.

Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Jose Miguel
Insulza, Secretary General of the Organisation of American States,
participated as special invited guests. A number of other senior
government officials were also present: Manuel Vicente, vice-president
of Angola, Titus Corlatean, minister of foreign affairs of Romania,
Zlatko Lagumdzija, minister of foreign affairs of Bosnia & Herzegovina,
and George Rebelo Chicoty, minister of foreign affairs of Angola.

ARF Bureau member and SI Vice President, Mario Nalbandian

During the discussion about the Syrian crisis, ARF representative
Mario Nalbandian spoke about the problems of the Syrian Armenians. He
emphasized on the necessity of making international aid feasible to
all the segments of the population. Nalbandian noted minorities’ issues
and, in the case of the Syrian Armenian community, he spoke about the
need of providing international assistance to support the educational
system. As for the neighboring countries, Nalbandian made a special
reference to Turkey and to the artificially created difficulties the
latter poses occasionally to Syrian Armenians at the check points.

The SI President also addressed the humanitarian needs of the Syrian
Armenians.

Mario Nalbandian also talked about the relations of the EU’s Eastern
Partnership countries with the (Eurasian) Customs Union. The ARF
Bureau member pointed out that in the case of Armenia joining the
Customs Union one should consider that the European Union hasn’t
made major investments in the country and hasn’t contributed in the
creation of new job positions. At the same time, Armenia is ready to
continue deepening its political and social relations with the EU.

The Presidium decided that the next SI Council meeting would take
place in Istanbul on 11-12 November 2013, hosted by the Republican
People’s Party (CHP), with special emphasis on current crises related
to the struggles for democracy, particularly in the Middle East and
North Africa, and conflicts threatening peace and security. It will
equally include discussions to reaffirm the centre-left vision for
the global economy with an emphasis on growth, jobs and equality,
and for a new development agenda.

Socialist International is the worldwide organization of social
democratic, socialist, and labor parties. It currently brings together
170 political parties and organizations from almost 140 countries.

In 2003, ARF was the first one among CIS political parties to hold
a SI full membership status.

ARF Bureau member Mario Nalbandian serves as SI Vice-President while
ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovhannesyan is Co-Chairman of the Committee
for the CIS, the Caucasus and the Black Sea. ARF is also a member of
the Statutory Committee on Finance and Administration of the SI.

The ARF Women’s Group is a full member of the SIW (Socialist
International Women). The youth organization of the ARF, the Armenian
Youth Federation, is a full member of the IUSY (International Union
of Socialist Youth).

AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ALIYEV WINS THIRD 5-YEAR TERM BY A LANDSLIDE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Oct 10 2013

10 October 2013 /REUTERS, AP, BAKU

Azerbaijan’s president won a third five-year term by a landslide in
Wednesday’s election, according to preliminary results, extending a
decade of rule in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation allied with the West.

With 72 percent of precincts counted, Ilham Aliyev was leading the
field with nearly 85 percent of the vote, said the Central Election
Commission chief, Mazahir Panahov.

The main opposition candidate, historian Jamil Hasanli, had about
5 percent of the vote, followed by eight other contenders. Full
preliminary results are expected later on Thursday.

Exit polls have earlier shown similar figures, prompting Aliyev’s
campaign chief, Ali Ahmadov, to quickly claim victory. “Ilham Aliyev
has unconditional support of the population,” Ahmadov said.

Aliyev has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 9 million since 2003,
succeeding his father, Heydar Aliyev, who had been at the helm for
most of the previous three decades, first as Azerbaijan’s Communist
Party boss during the Soviet times, then as its president.

The current president has presented himself as a guarantor of
stability, an image with broad appeal in a nation where painful
memories are still fresh of the years of turmoil that accompanied
the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

A six-year war with neighboring Armenia over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh left ethnic Armenian forces in control of
Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring areas in Azerbaijan and turned 1
million Azerbaijanis into refugees.

Under Aliyev, Azerbaijan has basked in oil riches that have more
than tripled its GDP and helped bolster his popularity. The State Oil
Fund that accumulates oil revenues held $34 billion at the start of
the year.

After hearing the exit poll data, hundreds of Aliyev’s supporters
carrying national flags and pictures of the president took to the
streets, some dancing to popular music. Motorists and bikers drove
around the city, waving Azerbaijani flags and honking horns.

“We all are very happy and think that Azerbaijan in the coming five
years will continue to prosper and will become the best country in
the world,” Baku resident Samira Guliyeva said.

“I am grateful to the Azeri people for voting for me and putting their
trust in me and the future development of the country,” said Aliyev,
speaking on state television.

Azerbaijan’s oil boom, the product of a BP-led consortium that
exports Caspian Sea oil to ships in the Mediterranean Sea, raised
living standards and boosted the mainly Muslim country’s clout to
court Western powers.

Azerbaijan has also boosted its arms budget and the amount of money
it spends on defense is higher than the GDP of its regional rival
Armenia, with whom tensions are still simmering.

ARMENIA : RED CROSS IS ASKED TO BE MORE ACTIVE CONCERNING ARMENIAN CAPTIVE IN AZERBAIJAN

TendersInfo
October 9, 2013 Wednesday

The Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) to Armenia Lorenzo Caraffi was acknowledged by the first
Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia David Tonoyan in relation with the
conclusion of his operation in Armenia. Sarah Epprecht, the new Head
of the ICRC Delegation to Armenia also attended the conference.

According to the press service of Defense Ministry , problems of
mutual collaboration were mentioned at the conference. D. Tonoyan
called on the ICRC associates to accentuate their initiatives relevant
to Armenian POW Hakob Injighulian held imprisoned by Azerbaijan and
to visit him more regularly.

KOUTOUJIAN: MAKING OUR VOICE HEARD

By Contributor // October 9, 2013

‘I hope that you will join me in voting for a strong community leader
and a great public servant, Peter Koutoujian!’

By Peter Koutoujian, Sr.

On Oct. 15, the Massachusetts’ 5th Congressional District has the
chance to write another chapter in the story that is the American
Dream in a way that has never been done before!

On Oct. 15, you can vote for my son, Peter Koutoujian (Jr.), and
help elect the first Armenian American to the U.S. Congress from the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I have so many reasons to be proud of Peter as a son and family man.

He has spent nearly 25 years in public service standing up for
people who need help. He started as a prosecutor and then served
as a state representative for our hometown of Waltham as well as
Watertown and Newton. When Governor Patrick chose Peter to restore
the public trust in the Middlesex County Sheriff’s office, he stepped
up to the challenge and voters voiced their support by subsequently
electing him sheriff with over 77 percent of the vote. He listens to
his constituents. He cares. He solves problems. He stands up for you.

On Oct. 15, you can vote for my son, Peter Koutoujian (Jr.), and
help elect the first Armenian American to the U.S. Congress from the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

At the State House, Peter was at the forefront of confronting violence
against women by helping establish the white ribbon campaign in the
Massachusetts legislature. He chaired the Public Health Committee
when Massachusetts passed healthcare laws that now ensure 98 percent
of residents and 99 percent of children are covered.

He has also been a leader within the Armenian-American community. He
led the fight to create the Armenian Heritage Park in Boston. He is
active with the Knights of Vartan as well as the Armenian Council of
Executives, and he sends our grandchildren to the Armenian Sisters’
Academy.

One of the fundamental aspects of the American Dream is that we have
the ability to shape the political destiny of our country. U.S.

citizens have the opportunity to register and vote for their elected
representatives.

Your vote is your voice.

I urge you to vote on Oct. 15. I hope that you will join me in
voting for a strong community leader and a great public servant,
Peter Koutoujian!

This election is about you. Together, our voice will be heard beyond
Massachusetts all the way to our nation’s capital.

Peter Koutoujian, Sr. is a former Waltham City Council member and
city clerk.

ARMENIAN REVIEW APPOINTS NEW ASSISTANT EDITOR, PUBLISHES RECENT ISSUE

Thursday, October 10th, 2013

Dr. Talar Chahinian joins the Armenian Review as assistant editor

WATERTOWN, Mass.–The Spring-Summer 2013 issue of the Armenian Review
was published earlier this month. The most recent issue includes
articles ranging from historic textual analysis to current political
issues.

In the first article of the current issue, Albert Stepanyan reexamines
and analyzes sections from Moses Khorenati’s History of the Armenians.

The analysis not only focuses on the content of the sections from the
Khorenati’s work, but also dwells into epistemological and semantic
interpretations of the work by looking at Greek and other Armenian
sources.

The second piece, authored by Rouben Shougarian, is an account of a
diplomat’s assessment of Turkish-Armenian Track I and II diplomacies.

The piece offers a survey of bilateral relations and the context
in which the two countries attempted to have rapprochement and
normalization of relation but without much success.

The third and fourth pieces are a dialogue between Taner Akcam on the
one hand and Ugur Umit Ungör and Mehmet Polatel on the other. The
dialogue starts with a review essay by Akcam examining and critiquing
Ungör’s and Polatel’s book Confiscation and Destruction: The Young
Turk Seizure of Armenian Property. In the lengthy essay, Akcam tries
to deconstruct and point out some of the issues which make the book
problematic. In their response, Ungör and Polatel respond to the
critique and go even further by providing more detailed explanations
about their research and methodology. This exchange should prove to be
quite interesting for our readership as it is not often that scholars
working on Armenian issues engage in a critique of their work in an
academic forum.

The recent issue of the journal also features book reviews and review
essays by Levon Chorbajian, who reviewed four books dealing with the
Armenian Genocide and its aftermath; Lerna Ekmekcioglu whose review
essay of the book dealing with the memoirs of Levon Yotnakhparian
provides a unique insight into the life of a prolific individual and
helps re-read those memories in the context of Armenian Genocide
literature; Levon Saryan’s review of a recent book on Tigranes II
and Vartan Matiossian’s review of Garegin Nzdeh’s selected works,
complete this quite diverse issue.

The latest issue of the Armenian Review is also one that welcomes Dr.

Talar Chahinian to the editorial team as an assistant editor. Dr.

Chahinian holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UCLA and
lectures in the Department of Comparative World Literature at
California State University, Long Beach. Her current book project
examines the Western Armenian literary tradition within the World
Literature model, by comparatively analyzing the Post-WWI and
Post-WWII literary centers of Paris and Beirut, respectively,
and their intellectual exchange with literary and journalistic
institutions in Soviet Armenia, North America, and the greater
Middle-East. She contributes regularly to the online journal,
Critics’ Forum, and directs the Saroyan Project, which works to
enhance Armenian language instruction in Chamlian Armenian School
in Southern California. Dr. Chahinian’s joining of the Review team
will expand the journal’s geographic reach as well as its academic
disciplinary horizons.

The current issue of the Armenian Review may be ordered by itself
or as part of a subscription to the journal from its website,
All subscription, order, and renewal
inquiries should be addressed to the publisher by writing to the
Armenian Review, Inc., 80 Bigelow Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472-2012;
by emailing [email protected]; or by calling (617) 926-4037.

ZARUHI POSTANJYAN HAS ASKED THORNIER QUESTIONS, HEAD OF ARMENIAN DELEGATION TO PACE SAYS

17:33 10.10.2013

Lusine Vasilyan

Head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe David Harutyunyan wonders why Zaruhi Postanjyan’s
question to President Serzh Sargsyan at PACE session has given way to
heated discussions. According to him, Postanjyan’s question to the
President in 2011 was even thornier, although more correct from the
point of view of ethics. Representative of the Heritage Party then
demanded from the President to leave the country.

David Harutyunyan considers that Postanjyan’s question was
unprecedented in PACE, although there have been MPs using this strategy
to launch their political activity. “I remember Vladimir Zhirinovsky
and several others using such tricks at PACE. This does not mean,
however, that my attitude towards such behavior is positive.

My attitude is definitely negative, and I think the question was
offensive. “But this was not the worst blow,” he said

Harutyunyan believes it was a greater blow to the opposition. PACE
holds a number of discussions on the rise of the role of the
opposition. However, this is not the behavior the Assembly considers
complying with European standards

Did Zaruhi Postanjyan’s question harm the reputation of Armenia and
its President? David Harutyunyan says “it changed nothing.” “The
President of the Republic has participated in more complicated
negotiations and has discussed harder issues,” he said.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliamentary Assembly,
a Deputy shall not be persecuted for his/her statements. Won’t this
contradict Armenian Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan’s intention
to make changes in PACE delegation? According to Harutyunyan,
this provision has nothing to do with the situation. He believes
that whatever decision is made, it will not contradict the PACE
requirements. The most importance is to keep the balance of forces
in the delegation.