Author: Badalian Vardan

LE MONDE: I. ALIYEV PREVENTS DEMOCRACY IN THE STATE VERY CAREFULLY

French well-known magazine Le Monde published an article about the
dictatorship in Azerbaijan. As Armenian panorama.am writes Azerbaijani
“Azadlig” has published the whole article by Giyom Perye.

“Eurovision” is the first international meaningful event which young
Azerbaijani Republic hosts. It is a great opportunity for Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev, who leads the country since 2003 with strong
fists, to make a self-propaganda. This small state between Russia and
Iran is rich with natural resources. It now tries to attract European
investors presenting itself as worldly and connected with the modern
values. But in reality there is a wild leadership in Azerbaijan which
took whole natural resources in its hands.

On 2009 Aliyev provided chance for himself to be elected as a President
till the end of his life. Presidential elections in Azerbaijan will
be just formal on 2013. Aliyevs’ clan keeps the natural resources of
the state in its hands for already 45 years.

Aliyev now does it jointly with his wife’s family. Leader of new
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev leads the country by his father’s cult: Heydar
Aliyev’s photos and mottos are on all corners of the state. Every
year on May 10, on H. Aliyev’s birthday Flowers’ Day is organized
in Azerbaijan and 70 million USD is spent on it. I. Aliyev prevents
democracy in the state very carefully. The international organizations
make accusations towards Azerbaijan after every election.

Parliamentarian elections on 2010 were so falsified that no one
opposition member could appear in the Parliament.

Azerbaijani show as if they have tolerant attitude to the opposition
parties in the country but thousands members of those parties appear
in prisons frequently. The meetings are forbidden here. No word about
human rights protection can be here. There are jailed journalists
in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani authorities are afraid Arabic revolutions can be repeated
in their state as well. And that is why hundreds of protestors have
appeared in prisons.

Great countries and European countries as well want to use Azerbaijani
oil and create alternative lines of oil besides Russia. NATO wants
to settle anti-racket systems in Azerbaijan.

“Now Azerbaijani relations are strained with Russia and Iran. And
in this context it tries to become closer to Israel. Some frames do
not like this. Israel claims to settle military base against Iran”,
the newspaper writes.

HEAD OF ARMENIA’S DELEGATION IS DISPLEASED BY PACE REPORT ON ELECTIONS

news.am
May 25, 2012 | 16:07

Regular session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) Standing Committee was held Friday in Tirana, Albania,
during which the PACE Observation Mission’s report on Armenia’s May
6 National Assembly (NA) elections was presented.

But the report caused a “surprise and bewilderment” to NA MP and head
of Armenia’s delegation at PACE, Davit Harutyunyan.

He stressed: “Armenia recorded considerable success in terms of
accurate voting lists. All of the report’s accusations are superficial
and they disregard Armenian authorities’ reasonable explanations.

The great number of passports issued in 2011-2012 is explained by the
fact that Armenia has begun issuing national passports ever since
1992, and with a ten-year expiry date, and it is natural that the
old passports will have to be replaced with new ones in 2011-2012.”

Also, Harutyunyan commented on the growth in the number of voters and
said these numbers’ birth indicator “exceeds the death indicator by
close to 270 thousand,” and therefore these citizens became eligible
to vote for the first time in 2012 and became constituents.

“So as to reduce this biased and unjust report’s damaging effect,
I am authorized to formally invite the OSCE/ODIHR [OSCE Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] to conduct a post-election
mission to re-inspect the voting list inaccuracies,” Davit Harutyunyan
stated from the PACE floor.

“The report is full of manipulations,” he noted.

“The PACE Observation Mission should study and publicize a report on
its own. It [i.e., the report] must be based solely on real, direct
studies,” head of Armenia’s delegation at PACE proposed.

RUSSIA’S POSITION ON SYRIA TO BECOME TOUGHER UNDER PUTIN – ARMENIAN EXPERT

news.am
May 25, 2012 | 15:46

YEREVAN. – Russia will review its positions and make it tougher on
some international issues, including the Middle East and Georgia,
during Putin’s presidential term, head of Institute of Oriental
Studies Ruben Safrastyan told the journalists on Friday.

According to him, Russia’s further policy is testified by Putin’s
election campaign statements published in newspapers. Besides, Russia
has twice put a veto on UN Security Council’s sanctions against Syria.

As for Georgia, if it is to join the NATO, Russia will take
corresponding steps to prevent it.

“We all remember Dmitry Medvedev’s statement that the 2008 war
prevented Georgia from joining the NATO,” Safrastyan said.

The expert considers that Georgia is not ready to join the organization
due to domestic-political issues, as the fight between pro-Russian
and pro-American powers is getting more active.

THREE-DAY VISIT OF FRENCH SENATORS TO ARTSAKH HAS FINISHED

ARMENPRESS
25 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 24, ARMENPRESS: The three-day cognitive visit of
French senators to Artsakh has finished on May 25. Armenpress was
informed from Media department of the NKR parliament that during
the period French Senate representatives Philippe Marini, Sophie
Jouasen and Bernard Faurnie had meetings with political leaders of
Nagorno-Karabakh, deputies of National Assembly, went on a tour to
historic places, and had been present at cultural programs.

At the end of the visit French high-ranked guests left for Shoushi
and had a meeting with the leader of Artsakh Diocese of Armenian
Church Pargev Archbishop Martirosyan. After the visit senators left
for Yerevan.

ARMENIAN CONSCRIPT KILLED IN ACCIDENT

tert.am
25.05.12

A conscript in one of the military units of Armenia was killed in a
car accident on Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson at the Ministry of Defense, Mary Sargsyan, told
Tert.am that soldier Khachatur Melikyan was run over by a Kraz vehicle
which had been driven to the parking lot by another conscript Georgy
Hovakimyan, who had just finished maintenance work.

A criminal case has been launched under Section 2, Article 377 (Breach
of rules for driving or operating vehicles) of the Criminal Code. An
inquest is under way.

ARMENIA BOYCOTTED EUROVISION AFTER SHOOTING OF SOLDIER – CNN

25.05.12

In the run-up to the Eurovision finals set to take place in
Azerbaijan’s capital Baku this Saturday, CNN has prepared a footage
highlighting the political background of the contest.

Addressing Azerbaijan’s hostile policies towards Armenia, the US-based
channel emphasizes that Armenia pulled out of the contest after its
soldier was shot dead on the border in March.

It then compares Spain with the Aliyev-led Azerbaijan, noting that
Austria refused to compete in Madrid in 1968 as a sign of protest
against the regime’s vote-buying campaign that paved way to hosting
Eurovision.

“More recently, Lebanon pulled out of its scheduled Eurovision
debut in 2005 in a spat over its refusal to broadcast the Israeli
performance. Lebanese TV channel, Tele Liban, told the European
Broadcasting Union, which broadcasts Eurovision, that Lebanon’s
legislation made it almost impossible to broadcast Israeli content,
putting Tele-liban in breach of contest rules,” says the footage.

Characterizing Eurovision a frothy, kitsch spectacle, CNN says
in the meantime that the contest has long been a forum for heated
geopolitical grandstanding, “with allegations of bloc voting and
political skulduggery dogging the contest for years”.

The full footage is below.

CNN: “EUROVISION SONG CONTEST FINALS HAVE INSPIRED CLASHES ON THE STREETS OF THE CAPITAL, BAKU”

The world media and international organizations are concentrated
on human rights violations and the general situation in Azerbaijan
because of the “Eurovision 2012”. Many articles and reports have
already been published on this topic. CNN has typed another large
article about the Eurovision 2012 and Azerbaijan.

“With the recent headlines emerging from Azerbaijan, you could
be forgiven for assuming something more dramatic than a singing
competition was about to descend on the country.

In recent weeks, the Eurovision Song Contest finals, which take place
Saturday, have inspired clashes on the streets of the capital, Baku,
between Azerbaijani police and opposition activists, and accusations
by state-controlled media in Azerbaijan that a German “conspiracy”
was waging an “information war” against the hosts”, the article starts.

Then it continues with information about Armenia. “That followed a
boycott of the contest announced by neighboring Armenia in March,
after the shooting of a soldier on their shared border.

It’s all a far cry from American Idol. But Eurovision has always
carried higher stakes than its sequins and songs in made-up languages
would suggest”.

“Armenia’s withdrawal from this year’s competition is the result
of tensions that have festered since a war with Azerbaijan over the
disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, which left between
20,000 and 30,000 people dead. But it is not the first boycott to
hit the contest:, it continues.

Speaking about the Eurovision contest in general the author of the
article refers to the problems in Azerbaijan again.

“The new arrivals have not been welcomed by everybody. Their success
has fueled suspicion among Eurovision’s old guard that the contest
has become plagued with tactical “bloc voting” — where groups of
countries vote tactically, essentially rigging the voting.

In 2008, British broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan wuit his Eurovision duties
after 35 years, saying the event was “no longer a music contest.”

Research published by a British academic in 2006 would appear to
support his position.

Dr Derek Gatherer’s analysis of Eurovision voting patterns between
1999 and 2005 concluded that bloc voting in the contest had increased.

He identified three major voting blocs from which a winner was usually
produced: The Balkan Bloc (Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Greece,
Cyprus, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Albania and Romania), the Warsaw Pact (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus,
Poland, Georgia and Moldova) and the Viking Empire (Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).

By contrast, France, the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy — the so-called
Big Five who make the biggest financial contributions to the contest,
and are given an automatic place in the final —- did not belong to
a bloc, and so had not won since the UK’s victory in 1997, according
to Gatherer.

At the time the paper was published, Gatherer successfully predicted
that Serbia would win in 2007. However since then, Big Five member
Germany has also been successful.

Many Eurovision pundits reject the notion that voting patterns are
a reflection of something untoward. Fricker says it is natural for
countries to vote for neighbors with whom they may share cultural
affinities, as the votes reflect public tastes”.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT TO CONTINUE CONSIDERING ARMENIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS APPEAL ON MAY 29

news.am
May 25, 2012 | 14:12

YEREVAN. – The Constitutional Court of Armenia will resume on May
29 the oral examination of the Armenian National Congress’ (ANC)
formal petition to cancel the results of the May 6 National Assembly
elections.

The Court made such decision when the petitioner asked for time to
fully respond to several questions posed by the respondent.

Also, the Court decided that the claimant must send the answers to
the Court.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the Constitutional Court
is orally examining Friday the ANC’s formal petition to cancel the
results of the May 6 National Assembly elections.

Central Electoral Commission Chairman Tigran Mukuchyan, who is
recognized as the respondent, motioned the Court to dismiss the
petition on the grounds that it is unsubstantiated, but the Court
rejected Mukuchyan’s plea.

Attorney Vahe Grigoryan and ANC Central Office Coordinator Levon
Zurabyan represent the ANC, and Zurabyan recorded that the voter
turnout number is inflated. He considered a 1.5 million turnout to
be amusing and noted that 1,080,000 had actually voted at best.

To note, six single-mandate MP candidates have likewise appealed
to the Constitutional Court with a request to cancel the election
results. Their petitions will be examined in June.

AZERBAIJAN BLACKLISTS SENATORS VISITING KARABAKH

news.am
May 25, 2012 | 14:02

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry declared “persona non grata” three
French Senators who had visited Nagorno-Karabakh without permission
of official Baku, Ministry’s representative said.

Elman Abdullayev said such visits escalate situation and create
uncertainty. He said the trip to Karabakh damages mediatory mission
of France and settlement of the Karabakh conflict as a co-chairing
state of the OSCE Minsk Group, Kavkazskiy Uzel reports.

He said the Azerbaijani Ambassador in Paris has filed a note of
protest to the French foreign office and sent a letter to the Senate.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am reported previously, members of the French
Senate Philippe Marini, Sophie Joissains and Bernard Fournier arrived
in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on May 22 to hold meetings with
local leadership.

AZERBAIJAN APPEARED IN NEW INTERNATIONAL SCANDAL

Panorama.am
25/05/2012

Austrian Bank OEBS offered 200 thousand euro bribe to the Azerbaijani
side to free its ex-manager, Austrian newspaper “Der Standard” said.

Azerbaijani news site “Azadlig” quotes the Austrian paper revealing
that OEBS staffer was arrested in Baku for being engaged in dirty
money laundering.

Der Standart said the Austrian banker escaped from Austria to
Azerbaijan. The banker was detained in Azerbaijan and the OEBS was
forced to pay bribe for his release.