Author: Badalian Vardan

HRANT BAGRATIAN N’ACCEPTE PAS NON PLUS SON SCORE

Ce candidat, qui n’a obtenu que 2,15% des voix, a ecrit sur sa page
Facebook, ne pas accepter les chiffres qui lui sont ” attribues “,
croyant avoir un electorat plus important. Toutefois, il dit etre fier
d’avoir obtenu le vote de confiance de plus de 30 000 personnes. M.

Bagratian conteste egalement ce scrutin, denoncant des achats de voix,
des bourrages d’urnes, des votes multiples et des listes electorales
” honteuses “. Les quotidiens relèvent par ailleurs que le candidat
Andreas Ghoukassian a cesse hier la grève de la faim qu’il observait
depuis le 21 janvier.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Armenie en
date du 20 fevrier 2013

jeudi 21 fevrier 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

FICTIONAL DIVE INTO HISTORY

Macarthur Chronicle (Australia)
February 19, 2013 Tuesday
1 – Campbelltown Edition

by Dennis Clough

STORIES of downtrodden young women and girls from another era have
inspired children’s author Yvette Poshoglian.

Miss Poshoglian’s latest book Escape from Cockatoo Island was released
this month and has already been included on the school curriculum at
Leumeah High School, where she works as an English teacher.

The book, aimed at children aged nine and over, tells the story of
children working at the former girls’ home on the island in Sydney
Harbour.

Miss Poshoglian, a former journalist, said her inspiration to tell
the historic island’s story in its days before it became a nightspot
and tourist attraction came while kayaking nearby.

The book, set in 1879, was a pivotal period in Sydney’s growth from
a colonial outpost to a global city.

“They were installing the steam trams in Sydney at the time and there
would have been ferries carrying people up the Parramatta and Lane
Cove rivers and taking day trippers to Manly, and the irony was that
these girls were stuck on that island,” Miss Poshoglian, 34, said.

The latest book follows the author’s six installments of the Ella
and Olivia series, published with Scholastic.

Miss Poshoglian said she was heartened by the state of children’s
literacy.

“Young people are reading more now than ever,” she said.

The writer said she looked back on her own English teachers as well
as her family for inspiration.

“My father came from Armenia to Palestine before coming to Australia
as a refugee in the 1960s and he read books in several languages.”

“You always look back on those English teachers who had an impact on
you, even if you don’t realise it at the time,” she said.

STORYTELLER

WHO: Yvette Poshoglian

WHAT: Just released her latest children and teens novel titled Escape
from Cockatoo Island

STORY: Focuses on stories of girls at the former girls’ home on
Cockatoo Island in 1879

DETAILS: Visit ellaandolivia.com.au

IN THEIR SHOES

“The government in the 19th century did not like what was happening
with the girls on Cockatoo Island and it led to the formation of foster
care in NSW. The girls were taken from the island to a facility at
Watsons Bay before being placed with families.

YVETTE POSHOGLIAN

US STATE DEPARTMENT RECOGNIZES SARGSYAN AS ARMENIAN PRESIDENT

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 20 2013

Press secretary of the US State Department Victoria Nuland called
the elections in Armenia well-organized, with respect of freedom
principles, News.am reports.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has been re-elected with 58.64%
of votes. The OSCE ODIHR recognizes legitimacy of the elections.

Nuland noted that there had been violations and interferences made
by Sargsyan’s supporters.

Raffi Ovannisyan, leader of the Heritage Party and ex-Foreign Minister
of Armenia, got 36.75% (539,672) votes, former Prime Minister
Grant Bagratyan got 2.15% (31,643) of votes, leader of the Union
for National Self-Determination Paruyr Ayrikyan got 1.23% (18,093),
head of Radio Hay Andrias Gukasyan got 0.57% (8,328), epos researcher
Vardan Sedrakyan got 0.42% (6,203) and former Foreign Minister of
Nagorno-Karabakh Arman Melikyan 0.24% (3,516).

60.05% of the population (1,518,407) voted.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL RUNNER-UP TO RALLY ON DISPUTED VOTE RESULT

Bloomberg
Feb 20 2013

By Sara Khojoyan – Feb 20, 2013 4:22 PM GMT+0200 .

The runner-up in this week’s Armenian presidential election will hold
a rally to dispute the results and demand the winner, incumbent Serzh
Sargsyan, concedes defeat.

Raffi Hovhannisyan, who garnered 37 percent of the Feb. 18 vote
to Sargsyan’s 59 percent, is planning a demonstration today in the
capital, Yerevan. He wants the president to recognize the “people’s
victory” and start negotiations with him.

Sargsyan is ready to meet Hovhannisyan at any time to clarify his
“incomprehensible” statements, his spokesman, Armen Arzumanyan,
told the panorama.am website.

Sargsyan’s victory for a second term solidifies his standing after
his Republican Party won a parliamentary ballot last year in the
landlocked country that borders Iran and Turkey and fought a war with
neighbor Azerbaijan over a disputed region two decades ago.

Presidential elections in 2008 triggered bloody scenes as 10 people
died amid clashes between opposition protesters and police.

Armenia’s dram, which has lost 4.2 percent against the dollar over the
last year, was down 0.1 percent at 406.9501 at 6:15 p.m. in Yerevan,
data compiled by Bloomberg show.

While observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe noted an improvement in the vote’s conduct, Hovhannisyan
said yesterday that the results don’t “reflect the will of the people.”

Addressing about 2,000 people in Liberty Square in Yerevan,
Hovhannisyan, whose Heritage Party won 5.8 percent of votes in
parliamentary elections last May, accused the Central Electoral
Commission of making a “false calculation.”

In an e-mailed statement today, Heritage said it’s filed reports
detailing more than a hundred violations and complained about a
recount of ballots initiated without notification.

Hovhannisyan’s official showing was better than expected, according
to Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute. That
support reflects anti-Sargsyan sentiment, he told reporters today.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S WIN ‘TAINTED’

Oman Daily Observer, Sultanate of Oman
Feb 21 2013

YEREVAN – About 5,000 flag-waving protesters rallied yesterday against
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan’s re-election, saying his victory
was tainted by fraud.

Supporters of Sarksyan’s second-placed rival Raffi Hovannisian filled
Freedom Square in the centre of the capital Yerevan to condemn what
they said were uncounted ballots and other violations.

“Are you ready to stay here long?” Hovannisian asked the crowd. “Are
you ready to stay here until victory? I’m ready.”

“The constitution should win over fraud,” he said, raising a first
above his head after kneeling to kiss the national flag.

Many of Hovannisian’s supporters vowed to continue their protests. –
Reuters

HIS MAJESTY’S GREETINGS TO ARMENIA, ECUADOR

Oman Daily Observer, Sultanate of Oman
Feb 21 2013

MUSCAT – His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has sent a cable of congratulations
to President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia on the occasion of him being
re-elected as President of the Republic.

In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations and
best wishes of success to President Sargsyan in leading the friendly
people of Armenia to further progress and prosperity.

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has also sent a similar cable of
congratulations to President Rafael Correa Delgado of the Republic
of Ecuador on the occasion of him being re-elected as President for
a third presidential term.

In his cable, His Majesty expressed his sincere congratulations
along with his best wishes of success to President Delgado to lead
the friendly people of Ecuador to further progress and prosperity.

– ONA

OSCE: ARMENIAN ELECTION MORE DEMOCRATIC THAN FORMER POLLS

Interfax, Russia
Feb 19 2013

Monday’s presidential election in Armenia, won by incumbent Serzh
Sargsyan, showed democratic progress but there were serious weak
points as well, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(ODIHR/OSCE) said on Tuesday.

“Candidate registration was inclusive, contestants had the chance
to campaign freely and voters had the opportunity to express their
choice. Media fulfilled their legal obligation to provide balanced
coverage and all contestants made use of their free airtime,” a press
release from the ODIHR cited the international observation mission
at the election as saying in a statement.

However, there was criticism as well.

“We have observed a calm election day, characterized by no major
difficulties in electoral procedures, following a somewhat quiet,
low-key election campaign lacking significant political debate and
real competition,” the release quoted Milan Cabrnoch, head of the
European Parliament delegation, as saying. “This was mainly due to
the decision by three main parties not to nominate candidates.”

At a news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday, Cabrnoch promised that the
European Union would give Armenia any help it needs in its democratic
development.

The Armenian Central Election Commission claims that Sargsyan has
won 58.64% of the vote at the election, and that his chief rival,
Heritage opposition party leader and ex-Foreign Minister Raffi
Ovannisian got 36.75%.

as jv

ARMENIAN BAR ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN GHAZARIAN: “ARMENIA IS ON THE CUSP OF CHANGE”

19:11, February 20, 2013

Another speaker at this evening’s rally at Freedom Square was Armenian
Bar Association Chairman Garo Ghazarian.

Ghazarian addressed the crowd saying, “For years many have criticized
the Armenian people for not being able to defend their rights. Today,
the people have stood up and voted their will.”

Earlier in the day, Ghazarian said that the election results did not
reflect the will of the people and declared Raffi Hovannisian the
newly elected president of Armenia.

He called on the people to unite and for all political parties,
organizations, communities and others to join with Hovannisian in
the struggle to defend the people’s vote.

Ghazarian concluded, “Armenia is on the cusp of change.”

ARMENIA ELECTION MARRED BY LACK OF COMPETITION: OBSERVERS

Chicago Tribune, IL
Feb 19 2013

February 19, 2013|Reuters

YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenia’s presidential election was an improvement
on recent elections in the former Soviet republic but was not genuinely
competitive, international observers said on Tuesday.

Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe said Monday’s election, in which
President Serzh Sarksyan was re-elected, was peaceful and generally
well conducted.

RUSSIAN MP WELCOMES ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S REELECTION

The Voice of Russia
Feb 19 2013

Russian MP Leonid Slutsky believes that the reelection of Serzh
Sargsyan as Armenia’s President will be beneficial for the development
of Russian-Armenian relations.

Mr. Slutsky is the head of the Commission of the Russian Parliament’s
lower house for relations with the CIS countries and Russian citizens
abroad.

He says that during the first term of Mr. Sargsyan’s presidency,
Russian-Armenian relations were friendly and mutually advantageous.

Serzh Sargsyan won the presidential elections on Monday with 58.6%
of the votes.

Voice of Russia, TASS