Author: Badalian Vardan

INITIATIVE IN LITHUANIA AND HYSTERIA IN AZERBAIJAN

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 11:40

As you know, on February 26, a declaration on the establishment of a
Group of Friendship of the Republic of Lithuania and the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was adopted at the Lithuanian Parliament.

Frankly speaking, the event is quite significant regarding the foreign
policy steps of the NKR on the way to its international recognition.

Surely, we don’t intend to overestimate the significance of this event
and especially to fall into euphoria, anticipating the imminent de
jure recognition of the NKR independence. But, we should not either
underestimate it. This fact should be considered, first of all, in the
context of democratic development of our Republic, which, in its turn,
creates safe prerequisites for the further international recognition
of the NKR and its full-fledged integration into the community of
civilized nations.

Our newspaper have already reported about the conference at the
Lithuanian Parliament dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the
beginning of democratic movements in this Baltic Republic and in
Armenia, as well as of the national-liberation struggle of the
Armenians of Artsakh, in which NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan
participated. The NKR Foreign Minister also had a meeting with members
of the new Parliamentary Friendship Group, calling the initiative of
its creation an impartial assessment of the achievements of the NKR
people on the way of building its independent statehood based on the
democratic principles. Surely, it is not a mere coincidence that for
the years of the NKR independence the first group of friendship with
Artsakh has been created just at the Parliament of Lithuania. If we
throw a retrospective look at the recent history, we can recall that
at the turn of 80s of the twentieth century, yet during the Soviet
Union, the organization “Sayudis” led the Lithuanians’ struggle
against the totalitarian Soviet regime and for the freedom and
independence of Lithuania. In other words, they can appreciate and
understand the democratic aspirations of peoples, including the
Karabakh people, for freedom and independence. And not only
understand, but also support, which was demonstrated by the initiative
of the Lithuanian parliamentarians.

Unfortunately, our, to say the least, opponent hasn’t demonstrated
such an understanding for already 25 years. Azerbaijan hasn’t
understood that it cannot turn back the process of establishment of
the NKR independent statehood. It cannot either stop the tendencies of
the international recognition of this independence.

A bright proof of such “non-understanding” is the hysterical and often
aggressive reaction to the pro-Karabakhian political actions
confirming the NKR existence as an entity of international law.

Following such actions, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan sends а
note of protest to the violator of the Azerbaijani calmness,
containing elements of threats and blackmail, which is accompanied by
“the ninth wave” of indignation also at the non-governmental level.

This took place last year, after the resolutions of the Parliaments of
the American states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as the
Legislative Council of the Australian state of New South Wales, which
recognized the right of Nagorno Karabakh to self-determination and
democratic independence. This also took place after the visit to the
NKR of the Uruguayan parliamentary delegation headed by Chairman of
the House of Representatives Jorge Orrico, which caused a storm of
indignation in Azerbaijan.

Lithuania didn’t escape this fate, having obtained “its” diplomatic
note of protest. Noteworthy in this regard is the commentary by the
spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan: “Certain
political figures and circles take steps far from the objectivity and
fairness, which violates the fundamental principles of international
law”. According to him, such steps “can be regarded as pursuing
personal financial and political interests”. Agree, it’s funny to hear
the charges of violating the principles of international law from the
representative of a country, the policy of which on the Karabakh issue
is an obvious and cynical violation of this very law. The other thesis
– pursuit of personal financial interests – is no less funny on the
background of the recent scandals related to Azerbaijan’s bribery of
some European parliamentarians. In other words, official Baku, which
is accustomed to act with corrupt methods in the international arena,
cannot even admit that someone is able to follow the principles of
justice and morality, placing them above mercantile interests. We saw
it in the case of Lithuania.

We can safely state that the deputies of the Lithuanian Parliament,
following the example of their U.S. and Australian colleagues, have
noticed and appreciated the commitment of the NKR authorities and
people to the democratic principles of development of the Karabakh
society. Apparently, many people begin to understand that the NKR as
an independent political factor has the right to independent
statehood. Similar trends emerged the last year, and we hope they will
continue this year too. At least, the initiative of the Lithuanian
Parliament members, which became another step in the started process
of international recognition of the right of the people of Artsakh to
self-determination gives reason to hope for it.

Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper

DECISION 2013: LEGAL BATTLE OVER, PASSIONS OVER ARMENIAN VOTE CONTINUE

VOTE 2013 | 15.03.13 | 10:25

Photolure

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

For the fourth time in the history of independent Armenia its
Constitutional Court has rejected opposition claims of fraud in
presidential elections.

Thursday’s verdict on the February 18, 2013 vote upheld President
Serzh Sargsyan’s reelection, while the general situation with disputed
ballots continues to do little to promote people’s confidence in
electoral processes.

Armenia adopted its new Electoral Code just over a year ago. Head
of the Parliamentary Committee on State and Legal Affairs David
Harutyunyan said the Code allowed citizens to control the elections.

But he, however, admitted that the ruling Republican Party would have
to initiate new amendments to the Code.

The opposition singled out one of the disadvantages of the current
electoral system still when the Election Code was at the stage of
debate. It is the absence of the obligation to publish the lists of
voters who actually go to the polls. The ruling party insists that
this is right, and the Venice Commission has endorsed this approach,
as it potentially could be a violation of the principle of secret
ballot. The opposition has disputed such an approach, saying that
going to the polls is already a public act and whether a citizen has
voted or not should not be made a secret of.

In the May 2012 parliamentary elections the opposition accused the
authorities of violations that could only be proved or disproved by
publishing the list of voters who cast their ballots in the elections.

The opposition claims that the government has been using the votes
of citizens who have left Armenia on a temporary or permanent basis
as well as people who do not go to the polls to ensure a victory
for their candidates. The opposition believes the authorities have
stuffed ballot boxes with hundreds of invalid papers voted in favor
of incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.

“The law-enforcement agencies, the Central Election Commission (CEC)
and territorial election commissions showed complete inaction. Unless
the Court supported Serzh Sargsyan, it should have granted our
request for all the bags of ballot papers to be opened up to see
what’s what,” said Heritage Party lawmaker Zaruhi Postanjyan, who
represented opposition candidate Raffi Hovannisian’s interests in
court during the four-day litigation.

In order to remove all doubt, the authorities only need to open the
bags with ballot papers, but the ruling party and the CEC have flatly
refused to do so, and the Constitutional Court has not obliged them
to do so.

Meanwhile, even in its interim report OSCE/ODIHR, the largest
international vote-monitoring group, expressed concern at “a
correlation between very high turnout and the number of votes for
the incumbent.” It described as “implausibly high” a turnout of more
than 80 percent that was recorded in 144 precincts, compared with the
official nationwide rate of 60 percent. Sargsyan got over 80 percent
of votes cast in the vast majority of those mostly rural communities,
according to the CEC.

Hovannisian won in precincts where turnout was around the average,
but still that landed him only an overall 37 percent of the vote,
compared to Sargsyan’s official tally of close to 59 percent. The
opposition candidate has been staging protests in recent weeks urging
Sargsyan to admit his defeat and retire. He has been on a hunger
strike with a similar demand since March 10, vowing to continue his
action until April 9, the official Inauguration Day.

Director of the Regional Studies Center Richard Giragosian evaluates
the current post-election situation in Armenia with just one word:
crisis. “It is a crisis of confidence, not only in the government, but
also in the opposition that faces certain problems,” says the analyst.

The authorities accuse the opposition of failing to present any
sound proof of violations that it claims occurred during the voting,
including at the legal process in the Constitutional Court.

Representatives of the opposition in election commissions indeed
signed all final voting records. As it turned out later, an election
commission member who does not sign the protocol in the end does not
get his or her salary paid either. And to get money for their work,
commission members signed the reports.

Commenting on the Court’s observation that proxies of the Hovannisian
party did not ensure proper monitoring of the voting process and did
not use their opportunities in full to challenge the election results,
lawyer of the Heritage Party campaign headquarters Karen Mezhlumyan
said that in areas where representatives of Hovannisian were able
to oversee the process, the opposition leader won. “In places where
there was not sufficient control, incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
won the vote by 90 or 100 percent,” he said.

After the verdict of the Constitutional Court it became clear that
Sargsyan and his party consider the elections over, but experts do
not exclude that during his second and last term in office the current
head of state will initiates a drastic legislative reform. There are
even opinions that Sargsyan may agree with the demand of Heritage
and some other opposition parties to switch to a parliamentary form
of government, so that at the end of his presidential term he could
become prime minister of a parliamentary republic.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF GEORGIA WELCOMES POGHOSIAN’S STATEMENT

March 7, 2013

The Armenian Community of Georgia welcomes Georgian MP Ruslan
Poghosian’s Mard 6, statement made in the Parliament urging President
Saakashvili to show restraint and correctness in connection to his
recent statements about the state’s citizens of Armenian origin and
about the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.

According to Georgia’s Constitution, which is the main law of
the state, “The territorial state structure of Georgia shall be
determined by a Constitutional Law on the basis of the principle of
circumscription of authorisation after the complete restoration of
the jurisdiction of Georgia over the whole territory of the country”
(art.2, par. 3). Therefore it is not clear as to why Georgia’s
President is trying to create a negative feeling within the society
in regard to state terminology. It is unacceptable when the President
of the country in order to achieve domestic or foreign purposes,
ignores the Constitution’s fundamental provisions and based on abstract
fears that are cut off from reality, makes statements and articulates
expressions that can turn citizens against eachother, implanting false
stereotypes. It is necessary to note that for the period 2003-2012,
the government was categorically denying the existence of the many
issues of the ethnic minorities and it was the government often
creating or perplexing the existing difficulties and problems.

Armenian Community of Georgia 07/03/2013

Ruslan Poghosian’s statement

Ruslan Poghosian, “The Georgian Dream” MP (06/03/2013, Georgia,
Kutaisi, Parliament) “Today, I make this statement not only as a
member of the Parliament but as a representative of the Armenians,
as well. The numerous statements of the President of Georgia
concerning a possible separation of Samtskhe-Javakheti from Georgia
constitute an act of sabotage against both the Armenians and the
Georgians. Saakashvili wants to conclude his failed policy by putting
the two nations in contradiction.

Samtskhe-Javakheti has always been and still is one of Georgia’s
ancient angles. It is the most beautiful not only because of its nature
but also because of its inhabitants that have through the centuries
lived like brothers on that soil. I urge the President of Georgia don’t
seed hatred within Georgians against the Armenians. The country’s
President must not act like that. The priority of the President is
rooting love and good among the citizens and not seeding revenge and
hatred. Until today, we haven’t commented on his announcements but if
continues to speak about that, our response will be much more strict”
(Ruslan Poghosian, The Georgian Dream, MP)

22-YEAR-OLD COMMITS SUICIDE IN ARMENIAN VILLAGE

NEWS.AM
March 15, 2013 | 12:12

YEREVAN. – A 22-year-old committed suicide in Saghmosavan village of
Armenia’s Aragatsotn Region.

A dead youth was taken to the Ashtarak city medical center from
Saghmosavan village, the Police informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

It was found out that R. Kh., 22, had committed suicide inside their
animal barn, and by way of hanging himself, at around 12:30am.

A forensic medical examination is commissioned, the circumstances of
the incident are being ascertained, and investigation is launched.

SARGSYAN STOLE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FROM ME

13:54, March 15, 2013

By Raffi Hovannisian

Exactly 25 years ago, from this little square called Liberty,
a movement began that would topple the greatest empire of modern
history. Of course, nobody knew that at the time. Few people believed
in this ancient people – subjugated, massacred and finally landlocked
into the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.

But I believed. On the other side of the globe, in a Los Angeles
skyscraper, I packed my briefcase for the last time. That night, I
kissed my wife and son goodbye. Then I boarded a plane. I was going
to the other side of the globe, to the land my grandfathers had once
told me about. I was going to Liberty Square.

It was an extraordinary time. A video camera on my shoulder, I pressed
through the vast chanting crowds on Liberty Square, watching the
eyes of my people inflamed with the rage and the hope of a coming
independence. I knew then that my life, and the life of my people,
was about to change. The following year, together with my family,
I moved to Armenia for good.

In 1991, Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union, and
I had the honor of serving as the country’s first foreign minister. I
raised Armenia’s flag at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

I raised it in memory of my grandfathers who survived the Armenian
genocide of 1915 and lived in exile in California. He dreamed of
returning to an independent homeland.

I had realized their dream.

But not everything was as it seemed. Very soon the dream began to
disintegrate because of the war with Azerbaijan and a closed border
with Turkey. The lights went out. The water was turned off. The
government was filled with corruption, and the oligarchs came to
rule over an impoverished nation. Opposition political leaders were
imprisoned and assassinated. Elections were rigged.

And the exodus began. Millions of Armenians fled the very homeland
they had spent generations praying for.

Within a year of my appointment as foreign minister, I had already
submitted my resignation. But I knew I could never leave Armenia. In
fact, I gave up my U.S. citizenship once and for all. And once again,
I went to Liberty Square where I joined a new generation of protesters,
no longer against foreign enemies but against the tyrannies of our
own government.

It was in Liberty Square in January that I started my campaign for
the presidency of Armenia. The election was held Feb. 18.

People said it was a mistake that I ran against the incumbent,
President Serzh Sargsyan. The most I would get was 5 percent, they
said, or 10 percent if I was lucky. The incumbent’s expected rivals,
one a former president and the other a billionaire businessman, refused
even to compete. There was no chance to challenge an incumbent who
would run these elections as all previous elections had been run.

The elections were filled with voter intimidation and ballot-stuffing.

All across the country, government buildings were turned overnight
into offices of the incumbent’s campaign. Especially in rural areas,
mayors kept villagers in total fear. All state resources – ministries,
schools, the police and the army – were deployed to carry out another
systematic forgery of the national will.

I don’t know if what happened during the Armenian election campaign
will ever be written about. I ran against fear and hopelessness with a
modest $200,000 campaign fund and 20 minibuses that were packed with
young volunteers. They traveled across Armenia, delivering to every
last village a vision of hope, a plan of action and a modest slogan:
“It’s possible.”

I myself did not stop working for those 27 days of campaigning. For
the most part, I worked alone. I walked into farms and flea markets
and met hundreds of Armenians who lived in poverty, who had no jobs
and who dreamed of leaving their homeland. I shook their hands and
shared their glance, and I said, quite simply, “Hello.” And they
responded in kind: “Hello.”

That was our secret covenant.

Then on election day, the miracle happened. The government machine
failed in almost every major city. Even according to official results
Sargsyan lost by large margins. In Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest
city, I received 70 percent of the vote against the incumbent’s
27 percent.

Given these losses, for Sargsyan to win on paper, he had to manipulate
votes in rural areas where more than 100 percent of voters supposedly
turned out to vote unanimously for him. According to the official
results, I received 36 percent of the vote, and the incumbent 58
percent.

But the people were not fooled by those numbers anymore. Everybody
knew what had happened. The Armenians had begun to believe again. They
had defeated the fear, cowardice and cynicism that lives inside each
of us. They had elected, against all odds, a new president.

Today the people have gathered at Liberty Square again. I am here,
too. Except now, I no longer have the video camera on my shoulder. The
video cameras are aimed at me. I have declared, here at Liberty
Square, a hunger strike against the fear, corruption and cowardice
of our government.

And now, 25 years later, I must look into the eyes of these people,
and I must tell them it’s not over. Our independence is just
beginning. Twenty-five years later, democracy has finally arrived
in Yerevan.

This time, however, we shall not squander our victory. We shall stay
here to the very end of this unprecedented movement until the will of
the Armenian people is recognized, once and for all, at Liberty Square.

The Moscow Times; March 14, 2013

LE MINISTRE GEORGIEN DE LA DEFENSE EST CONFIANT DANS LE FAIT QUE L’ARMENIE NE PERMETTRA PAS QUE LA BASE MILITAIRE DE GUMRI SOIT UTILISEE A L’ENCONTRE DES INTERETS GEORGIENS

En visite officielle en Armenie, le Ministre georgien de la Defense,
Irakli Alasania, a rencontre son homologue Seyran Ohanian, avec lequel
il a discute de la cooperation bilaterale dans le domaine militaire.

Hayots Achkhar remarque que la cooperation militaire entre les
deux pays voisins est assez modeste et implique generalement des
programmes de formation conjoints dans le cadre de divers projets
de l’OTAN. Le territoire georgien sert aussi de transit pour les
armements a destination d’Armenie. Lors d’une conference de presse,
le Ministre georgien a estime que si Tbilissi considerait les bases
militaires russes en Abkhazie et en Ossetie comme une menace, il
etait certain que celle de Gumri ne serait en aucun cas utilisee au
detriment des interets georgiens. Interroge sur les menaces de Bakou
d’abattre les avions civils a destination de l’aeroport de Stepanakert,
le Ministre georgien a qualifie une telle perspective d'” inadmissible
“. Le Ministre georgien a ete egalement recu par le President
Sarkissian auquel il a reaffirme que les relations fraternelles avec
l’Armenie constituaient une priorite pour le Gouvernement de Bidzina
Ivanichvili. / Rapporte par l’ensemble de la presse

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 11 mars 2013

vendredi 15 mars 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

PRESENTATION OF TURKEY FLIGHT TO BE HELD IN ARMENIA TOMORROW

APA, Azerbaijan
March 13 2013

Baku – APA. Flights between Armenian capital city Yerevan and Van,
Turkey, will commence on April 3. The details of this new air
travel route will be provided during the official presentation and
press conference to be held Thursday at the hall of the Union of
Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia, APA reports quoting news.am.

Starting from April 3, two weekly direct flights will be conducted
between Yerevan and Van. The tickets for the Yerevan-Van-Yerevan flight
will cost Armenian drams (AMD) equivalent to $250. In addition, there
will be a 20-percent discount in the ticket prices for the first month.

Armenia’s Narekavank Tour and Turkey’s Bora Jet companies have
arranged this flight, which will be conducted with ATR 72-500-model
European-production airplanes and its duration will be forty minutes.

U.S. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT: OCCUPATION OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH BY ARMENIA REMAINS A POTENTIAL FLASHPOINT IN THE REGION

Trend, Azerbaijan
March 13 2013

The standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Armenian-occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh region remains a potential flashpoint, Director
of National Intelligence James Clapper said in his report Worldwide
Threat Assessment to the submitted to the Congress.

“Heightened rhetoric, distrust on both sides, and recurring violence
along the Line of Contact increase the risk of miscalculations that
could escalate the situation with little warning,” the report says.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

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

BEIJING INT’L FILM FESTIVAL NOMINATED 15 FILMS

China Business News
March 12, 2013 Tuesday 6:30 AM EST

Beijing, March 12 — The 3rd Beijing International Film Festival
nominated 15 films for its first ever competition section, the event
organizers said yesterday.

Famous Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov will serve as head of the
jury for the newly established Tiantan Award (also known as Temple
of Heaven Award).

The nomination list includes two Chinese films, “Back to 1942,”
by Feng Xiaogang, and “Feng Shui,” by Wang Jing.

Other nominated films include:

* “Great Expectations” by Mike Newell (UK);

* “Gone Fishing” by Carlos Sorin (Argentina);

* “Home for the Weekend” by Hans Christian Schmid (Germany);

* “If Only Everyone” by Nataliya Belyauskene (Armenia);

* “Inch’ Allah” by Anais Barbeau-Lavalette (France);

* “Lore” by Cate Shortland (Australia);

* “Maddened by His Absence” by Sandrine Bonnaire (France);

* “Manslaughter” by Pieter Kuijpers (Netherlands);

* “My German Friend” by Jeanine Meerapfel (Germany);

* “Modest Reception” by Mani Haghighi (Iran);

* “Song for Marion” by Paul Andrew Williams (UK);

* “The Fantastic World of Juan Orol” by Sebastian del Amo (Mexico);

* “What the Day Owes the Night” by Alexandre Arcady (France).

These 15 films will compete for ten awards including Best Feature,
Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best
Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music
and Best Visual Effects. The winners will be announced at the closing
ceremony on the night of April 23.

Organizers said a total of 531 films from 56 countries have been
submitted since last September, and 15 films were shortlisted. The
judges will range from international famous directors to actors and
scriptwriters.

Nikita Mikhalkov, the lead judge, was born into a family with an
intense literary and artistic atmosphere. His movie “Urga” won the
Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Moreover,
his movie “Burnt by the Sun” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign
Language Film. Other famous movies include “A Slave of Love,” “The
Barber of Siberia,” “Dark Eyes” and “12.” He acted as jury head at
the 46th Berlin International Film Festival in 1996, and served as
the head of the short film and Cinefondation jury at the 58th Cannes
Film Festival in 2005.

The 3rd Beijing International Film Festival will be held in Beijing
from April 16 to 23. The opening ceremony will be held at Beijing’s
Temple of Heaven Park, a world famous scenic spot, on the night
of April 16, and will be packed with movie stars and industry
professionals.

The Beijing International Film Festival is hosted by the State
Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the People’s
Government of Beijing Municipality, and organized by the SARFT Film
Bureau and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio, Film and Television.

With its two-year development thus far, the Beijing International
Film Festival has become an important showcase of the collaboration
and cooperation of world films, and has received wide involvement
from the global film industry.

About 4,000 domestic and international entrepreneurs, filmmakers and
professionals attended last year’s festival, 640 film institutions
set up their exhibition booths and 21 film projects, worth a total
of 5.27 billion yuan (US$847.57 million), were signed. Highlights
also included James Cameron’s visit and several summit forums.

WASHINGTON: SPEECH OF HON. JUDY CHU OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013

US Official News
March 12, 2013 Tuesday

The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the
following Speech:

Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 25th anniversary of
a critical turning point in the political freedom of the Armenian
people of Azerbaijan. Let us take this occasion to remember their
struggle for self-determination and freedom.

In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan petitioned to become
part of Armenia. For the next 2 years, the Armenian population was
the target of racially motivated pogroms. Hundreds of Armenians were
murdered and more wounded during three violent attacks in Sumgait,
Kirovabad, and Baku.

In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh officially declared independence, becoming
a democratic state committed to freedom and respect for human rights.

Despite dual blockades and threats from neighboring Azerbaijan,
Nagorno Karabakh has held a series of democratic elections and
continues to work hard to strengthen its economy. I stand with the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh in this noble pursuit.