Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Georgian president has no chance of returning to power – Armenian analyst

May 11, 2013 | 13:52

YEREVAN. – As Georgia’s current authorities believe, no project of
regional significance assumes Armenia’s isolation, analyst Sargis
Asatryan stated during a press conference on Saturday.

In his words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s recent
statements with respect to Azerbaijan aim to strengthen his positions
within the country’s domestic politics.

`Saakashvili is attempting to receive the liking of official Baku,’
Asatryan maintained.

In his turn, Georgian affairs specialist Alik Eroyants noted that the
Georgian president is trying to satisfy both Azerbaijan and Turkey, so
as to receive the chance to make new political moves in the future.

`This notwithstanding, Saakashvili has no chance of returning to power
along the lines of the forthcoming elections. But he is not preparing
to leave politics,’ Eroyants said.

He added that the Georgian president’s paramount objective is to
deepen relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. As per Alik Eroyants,
Mikheil Saakashvili is trying to create a counterbalance to Georgia’s
ruling alliance.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

Saakashvili loses levers in Georgia, puts last hope on Azerbaijan – experts

14:30 – 11.05.13

Georgian-Azerbaijani relations have entered an interesting phase with
the efforts of Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili, which though
does not get any response from the Azerbaijani side expert Sargis
Asatryan said speaking to reporters today.

`Saakashvili has lost his levers in the whole country and puts his
last hope on Baku by attracting Aliyev. But the Azerbaijani side is
cautious,’ the expert said, adding that the cautiousness is reflected
in the statement made by Saakashvili in Baku which threaten
Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

Another expert Alik Eroyants said Saakashvili’s actions make it clear
that his steps are addressed against the ruling authorities. `Though
not having any chances to win the upcoming elections in Georgia,
Saakashvili states that he has no intention to leave politics. With
the steps flattering Aliyev he prepares a ground for the upcoming
years,’ he said.

Asatryan reminded that Bidzina Ivanishvili has started neutralization
of Turkish-Azerbaijani factor, reviewing the Armenian one.
Despite Ivanishvili’s big influence, Georgian dream has not nominated
presidential candidate yet. The expert said Ivanishvili would better
offer a woman candidate as being a strong leader it will be difficult
for him to find man candidate.

.

From: Baghdasarian

Armenia’s authorities lead country toward political party state –
opposition party

May 11, 2013 | 01:55

YEREVAN. – The Armenian authorities, led by the Republican Party, are
leading the country toward a political party state.

Opposition Heritage Party Vice-Chairman Armen Martirosyan told the
aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am, commenting on the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) final report on Armenia’s presidential
election that was conducted on February 18.

The rapporteurs advise the Armenian authorities to conduct activities,
during elections and in accordance with the Copenhagen Document,
toward separating the authorities and the ruling political party. As
per Martirosyan, the Armenian authorities have not approached to the
letter and spirit of that document even during the capital city
Yerevan Council of Elders election that was held on May 5.

`What the OSCE representatives have depicted practically means free
elections were not conducted in Armenia,’ the opposition member said.

Martirosyan added that if the influence of the ruling party and the
state apparatus grows, it will be meaningless to hope for progress.

`The [election] fraud can be so transparent that it will be impossible
not to see it, but this does not worry the authorities,’ Armen
Martirosyan noted.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian

Hartford Courant, CT
May 10 2013

Former Secretary Of The State Julia Tashjian Dies At 74

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, [email protected]
The Hartford Courant
5:51 p.m. EDT, May 10, 2013

Politicians around the state are mourning the death of former
Secretary of the State Julia H. Tashjian, a well-known figure in state
politics in the 1980s.

Tashjian, a Windsor Democrat who served as the state’s chief elections
official from 1983 to 1991, died of a heart attack Thursday. She would
have turned 75 on June 8.

She lost her statewide post to Republican Pauline Kezer before
attempting a political comeback in the 1994 Democratic primary against
Miles S. Rapoport of West Hartford. Rapoport won in a
closer-than-expected primary and then won again in November.

“We mourn the loss of Julia Tashjian, a self-made woman of the modern
political era in the mold of Ella Grasso and other strong leaders of
the state of Connecticut,” said Denise Merrill, the current secretary
of the state. “Julia Tashjian was a fierce defender of democracy,
wanting every voter to have a voice. She took her role very seriously,
even serving as president of the National Association of Secretaries
of State. As the daughter of immigrant parents who were Armenian
refugees, Julia Tashjian was always grateful for the gifts of
education, economic prosperity, and freedom from oppression given to
her by our great state and country.”

Merrill continued, “Julia was a trailblazer for women interested in
elective office but always valued her Armenian traditions and never
forgot her humble roots. A graduate of the Hartford public school
system, Julia truly viewed public service as a way to give back to her
community.”

In a statement, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said: “As secretary of the
state, Julia made great strides to modernize the office and encourage
greater participation in our democracy. I will remember Julia for her
years of public service, cheerful demeanor and pride in her Armenian
American heritage.”

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said, “Julia always had a smile and a laugh for
everyone. But behind that easygoing personality she was a very
hardworking public servant who was dedicated to her state, her family
and her beloved Armenian community.”

A Rhode Island native, Tashjian moved with her family to Connecticut
in her early years and attended public schools in Hartford. A
Democratic stalwart, she was a delegate to national conventions and an
elected member of the state central committee before winning her first
statewide election in 1982.

Despite eventually losing the Democratic primary in 1994, Tashjian did
better than expected. She apparently benefited from having her name
appear next to gubernatorial candidate William Curry, who won a strong
victory over John B. Larson of East Hartford that year.

State Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, said at the time that
Rapoport was penalized by being on the same ballot line as Larson, the
loser in the gubernatorial race. “He’s being sucked down by Larson,
and Tashjian is benefiting from Curry,” said Mushinsky, who backed
Rapoport and Curry. “Progressives did try to co-work for both Curry
and Rapoport, but the effort was hampered by the two candidates’ being
on different lines. The message did not get through.”

,0,1610862.story

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIE
L’OSCE fait un bilan final mitigé du scrutin présidentiel arménien

Les observateurs de l’Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération
en Europe ont donné jeudi un bilan mitigé de la récente élection
présidentielle en Arménie, en réitérant qu’elle était « généralement
bien administrée », mais s’interrogeant sur les résultats officiels
qui ont donné la victoire au président Serge Sarkissian.

Dans leur rapport final, les observateurs s’en sont tenus à leur
conclusion préliminaire que le vote du 18 février était « caractérisé
par un respect des libertés fondamentales » se traduisant par une
campagne libre et une couverture en grande partie impartiale des
candidats à la présidentielle par les médias audiovisuels.

Le rapport indique que les 300 moniteurs occidentaux principalement
déployés par l’OSCE n’ont pas vu de graves irrégularités dans la
grande majorité des 970 bureaux de vote visités qu’ils ont visité le
jour du scrutin. Il affirme que les votes observés ont également été
évalués comme positifs.

Les observateurs ont en même temps de nouveau accusé l’équipe de
campagne de Serge Sarkissian d’avoir abusé des ressources
administratives pendant la campagne électorale. `Il s’agit notamment
d’un nombre élevé de fonctionnaires d’Etat et de fonctionnaires locaux
ce qui rend flou la ligne entre l’État et le parti politique, ainsi
qu’entre l’exercice de fonctions officielles et de campagne` dit le
rapport.

Plus important encore, la mission de l’OSCE, qui a formé le noyau dur
de l’équipe de surveillance internationale en Arménie, jette le doute
sur la crédibilité des résultats officiels dans des centaines de
bureaux de vote. Ils ont souligné une `tendance à des résultats
considérablement meilleurs pour le président sortant dans la majorité
des bureaux de vote avec une participation supérieure à la moyenne.`

`Ceci indique de possibles sérieux problèmes lors du vote et de
dépouillement et soulève des inquiétudes quant à l’intégrité du
processus électoral » dit le rapport.

Citant les résultats définitifs publiés par la Commission électorale
centrale (CEC), le rapport de l’OSCE note que plus de 80 pour cent des
électeurs admissibles ont voté ostensiblement dans 144 des 2000
bureaux de vote de l’Arménie. Un tel taux de participation élevé, dit
le rapport, `semble d’un taux élevé peu plausible.`

Serge Sarkissian a obtenu plus de 80 pour cent des voix dans 115 de
ces circonscriptions, selon la CEC.

`Sur 198 des 303 bureaux de vote où la participation se situait entre
70 et 80 pour cent, le président titulaire a reçu plus de 70 pour cent
des voix` précise le rapport de l’OSCE. « Parmi les 249 bureaux de
vote où le taux de participation était inférieur à 50 pour cent, M.
Sarkissian a reçu plus de 50 pour cent des votes dans 40 bureaux et
[le principal candidat de l’opposition Raffi] Hovannisian a reçu plus
de 50 pour cent dans 155 bureaux. `

Le rapport ne dit pas si les résultats officiels dans les bureaux de
vote avec un très fort taux de participation aurait pu sérieusement
affecté le décompte des voix au niveau national. Selon la CEC, M.
Sarkissian a remporté le scrutin du 18 février avec 58,6 pour cent des
voix, suivi par Raffi Hovannisian avec 36,7 pour cent des voix.

samedi 11 mai 2013,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

From: Baghdasarian

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 8, 2013 Wednesday 10:42 PM GMT+4

OSCE PA President calls for preserving Geneva format of talks

TBILISI May 8

– OSCE PA President Wolfgang Grossruck called for preserving the
Geneva format of talks.
Speaking after a meeting with Georgian Minister for Reintegration
Paara Zakareishvili on Wednesday, May 8, Grossruck admitted that this
is a complex issue but all problems should be solved through talks and
dialogue.
Zakareishviil, in turn, said that the Georgian government also
believes that the Geneva format of talks should be preserved.
The Geneva discussions take place under the auspices of the United
Nations, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and involve delegations of the Republic
of Abkhazia, Georgia, Russia, the United States, and the Republic of
South Ossetia.
The Geneva International Discussions, launched after the August 2008
conflict in Georgia, are co-chaired by the OSCE, EU and U.N., and
bring together representatives of Georgia, the Russian Federation, the
United States, Tskhinvali and Sukhumi. The establishment of Incident
Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRMs) was one of their outcomes.
The Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms were established under
the Geneva International Discussions, which are co-chaired by the
OSCE, the EU and the U.N.
Meanwhile, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on South
Caucasus Joao Soares is in the region to visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Armenia to discuss developments in the region regarding democratic
reforms and unresolved conflicts.
Soares started his tour in Baku, Azerbaijan, from May 5-7 where he
discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the upcoming presidential
election.
Vice-speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament Bahar Muradova, who met with
Soares, stressed that her country attaches great importance to
cooperation with the OSCE, and is interested in continuation of
bilateral ties, AzerTAc reports.
The sides noted that the OSCE Minsk Group carries out certain work to
solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Muradova said:
“Azerbaijan is for sooner resolution of the problem and believes in
the role of Minsk Group.”
Both sides condemned the policy of occupation and aggression that
threatens not only a state’s, but also the region’s and the world’s
security. “Azerbaijan expects fair solution to the problem,” Muradova
added.
The OSCE PA special representative praised the cooperation between
Azerbaijan and the OSCE.
Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation to PA works fruitfully and
efficiently, Soares underlined.
The sides had a comprehensive exchange of views on a number of other
questions of mutual interest.
Soares then travelled to Tbilisi from May 7-9 where he has been joined
by OSCE PA President Wolfgang Grossruck. In addition to fulfilling the
mandate of the Special Representative in promoting dialogue and
developing confidence-building measures in the region, the stop in
Georgia will also serve as a follow-up to the October 2012 election
observation mission and prepare for a potential observation of this
autumn’s presidential election.
On Tuesday, May 7, the OSCE delegation meets with representatives of
the minority and the majority of the Parliament of Georgia. On May 8,
Wolfgang Grossruk and Joao Soares met first with representatives of
non-governmental organisations and then with the State Minister for
Reintegration Paata Zakareishvili, President Mikheil Saakashvili,
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, Parliament Speaker David
Usupashvili and Foreign Minister Maya Pandzhikidze.
On the last day of the visit the OSCE PA Special Representative for
the South Caucasus Joao Soares is scheduled to meet with the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman on Nagorno-Karabakh Andrzej
Kasprzyk.
In early April, representatives of the Monitoring Committee of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe arrived to Georgia
with a five-day visit. The delegation included the co-rapporteurs on
Georgia Michael Astrup Jensen (Denmark) and Boris Tsilevich (Latvia).
They held the first meeting with the NGO representatives in Tbilisi
office of the Council of the Council of Europe. They also met with the
Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Soares also intends to visit Yerevan, Armenia, from May 9-11 to
continue discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh and also follow-up on
February’s presidential election. Deputy Secretary General Tina Schoen
and Secretary of the Portuguese Delegation Nuno Paixao will travel
with Soares to all the three countries. Secretary of the Austrian
Delegation Lukas Mussi will travel to Georgia with President
Grossruck.
“The protracted conflicts are the most urgent problems as they hinder
development in the entire region,” Soares said. “I think there is a
need to promote broader discussion in the Assembly about the
conflicts, and I hope that my visits to the region will help ensure
those discussions take place.”
A former president of the OSCE PA, Soares was appointed Special
Representative on South Caucasus in July 2011. He also serves as
deputy head of Portugal’s delegation to the OSCE PA and as a member of
the OSCE PA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Transparency and Reform of the OSCE.

From: Baghdasarian

Voter Complaints Dismissed by Yerevan’s Electoral Commissions

00:37, May 10, 2013
By Tamara S. Voskanian

Following Yerevan’s May 5 municipal election, in which a variety of
voting day violations were observed by election monitors, attorneys
have filed approximately 160 complaints with the Territorial Electoral
Commissions of the four Precincts representing the following three
districts of Armenia’s capital: Sebastia-Malatia, Shengavit, and
Erebuni-Nubarashen. The initial complaints had to be filed by 6 pm on
the Monday following the elections – an extremely short deadline given
the number of recorded violations.On May 8th at approximately 3 pm,
the Electoral Commissionsfor the above-mentioned precincts notified
the attorneys who filed the complaints that all four hearings
werescheduled to take place at 7 pmthat same evening, within several
hours of the call.

During the hearings, the four Electoral Commissions uniformly
dismissed all the applications on procedural grounds, without allowing
the attorneys a chance to present their cases. Each of the four
rejections wereworded identically, although they purported to address
different allegations,strongly indicating that the decisions had
beenpre-determined. The attorneys believe that the texts were supplied
to the Territorial Commissions by the national Central Electoral
Commission (CEC), thereby depriving the attorneys of pursuing what
would have otherwise been the next step: appealing the decisions of
the Territorial Commissions to the CEC.

Consequently, the attorneys have now decided to appeal the Territorial
decisions directly to the Administrative Court – a court whose
decision will be final and not subject to appeal.The attorneys are
also working on a strategy to file a case with the Constitutional
Court of Armenia. The goal of this lawsuit is to have the
Constitutional Court extend the deadline for the filing of complaints
with the Territorial Electoral Commissions, allowing a reasonable
amount of time to prepare the cases. In this lawsuit, the attorneys
will also be asking the high court to give election observersthe same
right to challenge the validity of the vote at polling stations that
political parties and their proxies currently have.

The complaints that have been filed to-date allege a variety of
infringements of the rights of voters, election observers and media
representatives, and general violations of Armenia’s Electoral Code.
Allegations include the following acts that were witnessed and
recorded by observers:

-Commission presidents failing to record violations in the registry,
as they are required to do.

-Party candidates entering polling stations during voting, which is
prohibited by law; when asked to leave, coming back and posing as a
party proxy.

-Instances where more than one party proxy was present at a polling
station; the law allows each party only one proxy per polling station.

-A Republican Party commission president using violence in polling station 7/15.

-One instance where a commission member allowed someone to vote in
place of her sister, who was not physically in Yerevan on election
day.

-Two instances in which video camera equipmentwas stolen.

The goal of filing thecomplaints is not necessarily to overturn the
final results of the election, as the margin between the parties who
took first and second place is significantly large. Still, registering
violationsand documenting the lack of action by electoral authorities
in the face of apparent fraud is a crucial step in the post-election
process.Through strategic litigation and a continuous campaign of
pressure on the electoral authorities, attorneys hope to bring about
necessary and positive changes to both the country’s Electoral Code
and the behavior of the authorities, with the ultimate goal of
developing Armenia’s election process into one that is truly free,
fair and transparent.

Photograph courtesy of Eric Grigorian. Lawyers Tigran Yegoryan and
Lousineh Hakobyan view video footage and discuss electoral code
violations with diasporan repatriate Babken Der Grigorian who was a
monitor in District 7 during the Yerevan elections.

From: Baghdasarian

Melkonian: Shushi liberation exploded myth about Turks’ invincibility

`The day of Shushi’s liberation coincided with the end of Great
Patriotic War, which was an important historical period for the
Armenian people,’ Director of the Institute of History of National
Academy of Sciences Ashot Melkonian told the correspondent of
Aysor.am.

Speaking about the liberation of the city of Shushi, he said the event
symbolizes a new stage in contemporary history of Armenia.

`To us, May is a month of victories, and history seemed to have
repeated itself: Shushi’s liberation became a turning point in the
Karabakh war,’ the historian noted.

In his words, the liberation of Shushi exploded the myth about the
invincibility of the Turks.

`We liberated Shushi in May and later, in 1993, we liberated not only
the whole territory of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, but also some
regions of the adjacent Plain Karabakh,’ Melkonian said.

He stressed that Shushi will remain in the history of Armenia as a
symbol of the restoration of self-confidence and spirit of the
Armenians.

From: Baghdasarian

Baku mayor says journalists like dead bodies

15:29 – 09.05.13

The mayor of the Azerbaijani capital has voiced offensive remarks
against journalists in recent comments to the media.

Speaking to the Azerbaijani service RFE/RL on Tuesday, Hacibala
Abutalibov, compared journalists with corpses.

`Whenever I see journalists, it seems to me I am in a graveyard, next
to the dead bodies,’ he said,.

But the Baku mayor refrained from giving further comments to justify
his statement.

Haqqin.az reports, citing the interview, that Abutalibov urged
journalists to never ask him again how much the city authorities have
spent to celebrate the annua; Flower Festival.

The flower festival, which has been celebrated in Baku every year
since 2000, coincides with the birthday of the former Azerbaijani
president, Ilham Aliyev (May 10). This upcoming event is expected to
see a greater splendor as the day marks the 90th anniversary of the
late president. Azerbaijan is said to have imported about 250 tons of
flowers from Italy, Netherlands Ukraine and France, the number big
twice as high as last year. Flowers have decorated the central parks
and squares of Baku, reports the Azerbaijani website, adding that a
flower-made Aliyev portrait featuring the number 90 has been placed in
front of the Heydar Aliyev palace in the city.

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: Baghdasarian

Prosperous Armenia Party leader to leave security council? – newspaper

May 09, 2013 | 08:17

YEREVAN. – The reporter from Haykakan Zhamanak daily asked Iveta
Tonoyan, the spokeswoman of Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) Chairman
Gagik Tsarukyan, whether the latter will leave the National Security
Council (NSC), where he is a member, the daily reports.

“No such matter is discussed at this time,’ Tonoyan responded.

This matter became actual when it was decided that Sport [and Youth
Affairs] Minister Hrachya Rostomyan will not be included in the new
Government. Once becoming a minister, Rostomyan naturally had
suspended his PAP membership, but it was known that he was the PAP
representative in the former Government.

Since a new situation was created following the [capital city] Yerevan
Council of Elders election [which was conducted on May 5] and another
role will be assigned to PAP, it was assumed that Tsarukyan should
give up his [National] Security Council membership.

[But] to remind, after not being included in the coalition
[government], Tsarukyan not only did not leave NSC, but, as an NSC
member, he sees off or welcomes [President] Serzh Sargsyan when he
heads to, or returns from, a country,’ Haykakan Zhamanak writes.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

From: Baghdasarian