Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
May 7 2012

Election results in four countries offer opportunities, risks for Turkey

7 May 2012 / E. BARIÅ? ALTINTAÅ?, Ä°STANBUL
The results of the elections held in France, Serbia, Armenia and
Greece over the weekend indicate that there will be shifts in the
balances in these countries, and experts agree that both opportunities
and risks are in store in terms of the relations of these nations with
Turkey.

In France, Socialist leader François Hollande won nearly 52 percent of
the vote in Sunday’s runoff, which analysts agree is more than likely
to normalize France’s strained relations with Turkey under Nicolas
Sarkozy and his conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party,
known for his staunch opposition to Turkish membership in the EU. The
elections indicate a new era is beginning between the two countries.
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an in remarks made on Monday pointed this out,
saying he hopes for a `very different’ relationship with France

Turkish President Abdullah Gül sent a letter to Hollande on Sunday
night, congratulating the new president on his electoral victory. Gül
reportedly invited his new French counterpart to `open a new page’ in
relations between the two countries amid strained ties.

Gül, sending a letter through the Turkish Embassy in Paris, wished
Hollande luck during his presidency and said Turkey wants to tackle
the problems it has had with France in the past few years.

Hollande’s election campaign director, Pierre Moscovici, also said in
a statement that Hollande would like to have a telephone conversation
with ErdoÄ?an.

`Relations with France received a heavy blow during the term of
Sarkozy,’ said Sinan Ã`lgen, head of the Ä°stanbul-based Center for
Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM). `The change in government
will end France’s staunch opposition to Turkish membership in the EU.
Talks on five chapters that have been unopened due to a French veto
are likely to reopen,’ he added.

But it will not be all roses and no thorns, notes Beril DedeoÄ?lu, an
international relations professor from Galatasaray University.
`Hollande as a socialist politician will have high expectations from
Turkey regarding democratization, human rights and transparency. And
if Turkey gets angry with this, strains might reappear in relations.’
She noted that issues such as some of the controversial judicial
processes in Turkey or issues such as freedom of expression might come
up as thorns in relations; however, DedeoÄ?lu noted that Hollande’s
election certainly opens a softer tone in relations.

Journalist Cengiz Aktar said Hollande is a soft-spoken, unaggressive
man and that his personality is likely to contribute to normalization
in France and Turkey’s relations, following a period of a highly
hostile French president who often looked down upon Turkey and was
openly Islamophobic.

Hollande beat conservative Sarkozy with 51.7 percent of Sunday’s vote
after a campaign dominated by the economic crisis that has felled 10
other European leaders since late 2009. The new president is expected
to be sworn in on May 15.

Uncertainty, fragmented parliament in Greece

In Greece, voters over the weekend punished the two main parties in
their elections, giving a boost to the far right and the far left. The
long term results of the rise of the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden
Dawn, and the far right Independent Greeks will certainly not be
positive for relations with Turkey, but the country has too much going
on right now to even concentrate on longstanding issues with Turkey
such as the impasse on Cyprus or territorial clashes over the Aegean.

Herkül Millas, an expert on Turkish-Greece relations, says difficult
days are ahead for Greece as uncertainty remains in place over whether
a government can be formed, or if it can implement austerity policies
expected by the EU — given the voters’ strong reaction to austerity
policies. According to Millas, even with a stronger government and a
weaker opposition, Greece was having a hard time following EU
policies.

EDAM’s Ã`lgen agreed, saying, `Greece is headed for a multi-party
coalition, and it won’t be likely for them to maintain political or
economic stability.’ However, he noted that the entry of formerly
marginal far-right parties will negatively affect relations with
Turkey.

Erhan Türbedar, a foreign policy analyst with the Economic Policy
Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV), said although marginal parties
are unlikely to be part of the government their newfound power in
Greek politics certainly was an unwelcome development. He also said
their presence is likely to negatively affect ties with Brussels.

New Democracy and socialist PASOK, the only major parties supporting a
130 billion euro EU/IMF aid program, won just over 32 percent of the
vote and only 149 out of 300 parliament seats. Greece’s parliament
will be the most fragmented for decades and the only way to a workable
coalition looks like some kind of rollback of the terms of the
bailout, something which lenders and northern European countries
firmly reject.

Golden Dawn won between 5 to 7 per cent of the vote according to exit
polls, giving them representation in parliament for the first time in
Greek history.

The biggest beneficiary of the protest vote was the Left Coalition
party of Greece’s youngest political leader, Alexis Tsipras. He won
nearly 17 percent of the vote compared to 5 percent in the last
election three years ago.

New path for Serbia

In Serbia, the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) appeared to
be narrowly ahead of the liberal Democratic Party (DS) as of Monday,
with the two candidates facing a run-off for the presidency on May 20.
SNS’s success is likely to affect relations with this country
negatively, although Turkey and Serbia have developed friendly ties
over the past few years.

EDAM’s Ã`lgen noted: `Over the past few years, Serbia’s relations with
Turkey have improved greatly. Turkey was successful in mediating with
Bosnia. The election results will bring about Serbia’s getting closer
to Russia, undermining Turkey’s recent confidence in Serbia.’

The SNS won 24.7 percent, ahead of the Democrats on 23.2 percent. The
Democrats polled 38 percent in the last election in 2008, punished
this time for an economic downturn that has driven unemployment to 24
percent. But with 16.6 percent of the vote, the third-placed Socialist
Party (SPS), once led by Slobodan Milosevic, will likely cast the
crucial vote to decide who forms Serbia’s next coalition government.

Relations unlikely to normalize soon in Armenia

In Armenia, the incumbent Sarksyan government’s party was set to win
parliamentary elections on Monday, indicating that the current status
quo in relations is likely to be preserved, most experts agree.

Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan told Today’s
Zaman he didn’t expect an important change in relations with Turkey.
He said most Armenian parties `more or less’ agree that Armenia is
ready to normalize ties, but, added, `The problem is on the Turkish
side.’ He recalled that a protocol signed between Turkey and Armenia
to normalize ties in 2009 included no preconditions regarding the
Karabakh dispute or recognition of the Armenian genocide. `When you
connect a hard process with another one that is harder you kill both,’
he said, adding, `We weren’t the ones who closed the border.’

Artak Shakaryan, an independent analyst on Turkey-Armenian relations
said, presidential elections are usually more important than
parliamentary elections. `Foreign policy is decided by the president.
If Serzh Sarksyan is elected president again next year, we can expect
a review of the protocol.’ He said relations with Turkey will come up
during the presidential election campaign `because all candidates will
use a more hawkish language on this issue.’

AZG Daily Editor-in Chief Hagop Avedikian agreed that Sarksyan was
likely to get re-elected as president and added that Turkey will need
to take a step to get a response from the Armenian side.

Elsewhere in the world, there were elections in Syria on Monday. The
opposition in Syria says the vote is a sham meant to preserve
President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic rule. The voting for Syria’s
250-member parliament is unlikely to affect the course of Syria’s
popular uprising, which began 14 months ago with largely peaceful
protests. Turkey is closely watching the elections in Syria, where,
according to UN figures, more than 9,000 people have been killed in
the turmoil, which some observers say is descending into a civil war.

*Gözde Nur Donat in Ankara and Celil SaÄ?ır in Yerevan contributed to
this report.

From: Baghdasarian

Asia Times, HongKong
May 8 2012

US urged to forge new Turkey partnership
By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON – Major changes that have swept both Turkey and its
neighborhood since the Cold War require Washington to forge a “new
partnership” with Ankara, according to a new report released on
Tuesday by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Among other steps, United States President Barack Obama and Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should use their close
relationship to create a government-wide forum for regular,
cabinet-level bilateral consultations like Washington’s Strategic and
Economic Dialogue (SED) with China or its strategic-level exchanges
with Israel, according to the report by a blue-ribbon task force of 23
members.

Co-chaired by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former
national security adviser Stephen Hadley, who served

under presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, respectively, the
task force also called for building much stronger economic ties
between the two countries by possibly negotiating a bilateral free
trade agreement and taking other measures.

While conceding that Washington will disagree with Ankara on a number
of important issues, including the pace and direction of political
reform inside Turkey and Ankara’s relations with Israel, the report
concludes that “it is incumbent upon policymakers to make every effort
to develop US-Turkey ties in order to make a strategic relationship a
reality”.

“To do otherwise would be to miss a historic opportunity to set ties
between Washington on a cooperative trajectory in Europe, the Eastern
Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa, for a generation,” according to
the 90-page report, “US-Turkey Relations: A New Partnership”.

The report comes amid a growing – albeit slow – appreciation here for
Turkey’s emergence over the past decade as a global economic
powerhouse, evidenced by its membership in the Group of 20 (G-20), and
as a regional superpower with significant influence on not just the
evolution of the past year’s “Arab Spring” but also the ongoing crisis
between Iran and the West, and the future supply of oil and gas from
the Caspian and Central Asia to Europe.

Shifting trajectory
During the Cold War, Turkey was largely taken for granted as a loyal –
if poor, inward-looking and sometimes repressive – member of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) whose territory occupied a
particularly strategic position vis-a-vis “containing” the Soviet
Union.

In the past 20 years, but especially since the accession to power of
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002, however,
Turkey’s position has changed dramatically.

Economically, its growth rate has been sustained at close to Chinese
levels over the past decade; politically, the AKP has significantly
weakened the once-dominant military and instituted other democratic
reforms; and internationally, Ankara has emerged as a confident and
independent actor, even as its loyalty to NATO, as shown by its
continuing troop commitment in Afghanistan and its agreement to
station an anti-missile radar system on its soil, appears
undiminished.

Just last week, one of the most influential US geostrategic thinkers,
former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, compared
Turkey’s importance to those of Washington’s most powerful NATO
allies.

“I would view Turkey personally today as one of the four most
important members of the NATO, certainly right there with Britain,
France, and Germany,” he said in a lecture at the Brookings
Institution. He also argued that Turkey’s political and economic
evolution could serve as a model not only for newly democratic Arab
states, but also for Iran and Russia.

As both he and the CFR report noted, however, the United States has
been slow to recognize its significance.

Standing up to Washington
“The new Turkey is not well understood by US administration officials,
members of congress or the public,” the report notes, adding that one
of the aims of the task force, which included prominent figures
representing a broad range of expertise and political views from
center right to center left, is precisely to build a better
understanding of Turkey’s importance.

Indeed, much of the news coverage of Turkey here over the past decade
has been negative.

Parliament’s rejection of Washington’s use of Turkish bases as a
launching pad for the 2003 Iraq invasion came as a shock to many in
the US.

More recently, Erdogan’s outspoken denunciation of Israel’s 2008-2009
military campaign in Gaza, followed by the Mavi Marmara incident in
which nine Turks were killed by Israeli commandos in international
waters, sparked a wave of anti-Turkish acrimony promoted, in
particular, by neo-conservatives, who had long been hostile to the AKP
due to its anti-military positions and Islamist roots.

The major institutions of the powerful Israel lobby have also since
quietly retaliated by supporting the Greek and Armenian lobbies
against Turkish interests in congress.

At the same time, human-rights and press-freedom groups here have
grown increasingly critical of internal developments in Turkey,
particularly the detention and prosecution of dozens of journalists
and others in connection with the “Ergenekon” and Sledgehammer”
conspiracy investigations of the military-dominated “deep state”, and
of scores of activists, politicians, reporters and academics accused
of supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The new report echoes many of these rights- and democracy-related
complaints, noting, for example, that the AKP’s constitutional reform
program has slowed unnecessarily and that the government has sometimes
resorted to the “same non-democratic tools” as its predecessors.

Washington, it says, should encourage Turkish leaders to “follow
through with their commitment to writing a new constitution that
better protects minority rights and basic freedoms”. The Kurdish
issue, according to the report, “is among the biggest obstacles to
Turkey’s democratic ambitions and the root of many of its illiberal
practices”, and Obama should encourage Erdogan to pursue “a new
Kurdish opening”.

At the same time, the report insists that some of the fears about the
AKP’s direction are exaggerated or unfounded. “In particular, the
decline in the role of the military in Turkish political life does not
mean that Turkey is inexorably headed toward theocracy or movement
away from NATO,” it insists, adding that “the United States must not
view the sum of US-Turkey relations through the narrow prism of
particular issues, whether they be Armenia, Israel, or ties to NATO”.

“The US-Turkey relationship is much broader than the Armenian tragedy,
the parlous state of Turkey-Israel relations, or the false debates
about Turkey’s place in the West,” it declares.

Washington “needs to see Turkey as a potential strategic partner with
which it has a relationship not only with newer partners, such as
India and Brazil, but ultimately with its closest allies, such as
Japan and South Korea”, the report adds.

On more specific recommendations, the report suggests that domestic
politics in both Israel and Turkey are unlikely to favor any
rapprochement in the near future, so Washington should encourage the
two countries to maintain what it calls the “one bright spot” in
bilateral relations – trade.

It also calls, among other things, for greater US efforts to advance
the normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia and to contain
Ankara’s long-standing territorial disputes with Greece and potential
disputes with Israel over gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.

While the two countries have differed on a number of fronts and
popular distrust of the United States is especially high in Turkey,
those differences “should not preclude the development of a
partnership, in particular as Ankara has moved closer to Washington’s
position on Syria and Iran”, according to the report, which also
stressed Turkey’s “constructive” role in Iraq despite its opposition
to the invasion.

(Inter Press Service)

From: Baghdasarian

RTT News
May 8 2012

Armenia Central Bank Leaves Key Rate Unchanged

5/8/2012 10:20 AM ET

(RTTNews) – Armenia’s central bank left its key interest rate
unchanged on Tuesday citing the lack of upward momentum in inflation
and signaled that it may ease policy if inflation slowed further.

The Board of the Central Bank of Armenia maintained the refinancing
rate at 8 percent. “At this moment it is reasonable to keep the policy
rate at the 8 percent level, which will have a neutral impact on the
inflation environment,” the bank said in a statement.

The country’s 12-month inflation slowed to 1.9 percent from 2.2
percent in April. Prices fell 0.6 percent on a monthly basis.

“Domestic economic developments do not portend an expanding of the
inflation environment: the growth of private spending and impact of
the fiscal policy are non-inflationary,” the central bank said.

Policymakers also ruled out any inflationary pressures from global
food and raw material prices. “There is much probability that the
12-month inflation will be within the confidence band of 4%±1.5 pp in
the forecast horizon,” the bank added.

The central bank said both global and domestic economies are
progressing in line with its baseline scenario outlined in the first
quarter.

Going forward, the bank expects the forecast inflation to be at the
lower border of the band if the current trends of development of the
economy persist. Then, an easing of monetary conditions would be on
cards, the bank said.

The minutes of the latest policy session is scheduled to be released on May 18.

by RTT Staff Writer

From: Baghdasarian

ianyan magazine
May 8 2012

Armenia: Yerevan Bar Set on Fire in Attack

ARMENIA – BY LIANA AGHAJANIAN ON MAY 8, 2012 12:04 PM

Update, 12 p.m: Suspects have been caught, sources say. Details will
be added as the story develops.
DIY, a popular bar in Yerevan was set on fire today when arson
suspects threw a bomb in its entrance, burning down the front half of
the establishment in the attack.

Closed circuit security cameras caught the two alleged suspects, who
were male. Motives for the attack, which occurred at around 5:30 a.m.,
are currently unknown, though sources speculate it is a hate crime for
nationalist fascist, possibly tied to an organized group.
DIY bar sustained heavy damage to its front half, where the bar was
located. An air conditioner was completely melted, with the only thing
that ironically stayed in tacked being a bottle of Kilikia beer,
sources said. Though the fire was put out, police took around 12 hours
to arrive at the scene, a move that is being criticized by supporters.

Supporters have been gathering at the bar for the majority of the day,
making posters with slogans such as `Your bombs don’t affect us,’ DIY
– no to fascism’ and `I am DIY. Other bar owners in the area have
dropped by to share their condolences. Messages of support were also
left on the group’s Facebook page. Boxes to collect funds in order to
start rebuilding are also being distributed. The bar did not have
insurance.

Located in downtown on Parpetsi street was opened in 2011 and quickly
earned a reputation as a bar for alternative thinkers. The attack on
the bar hasn’t been the first. It escalated from verbal abuse to
breaking glass, before today’s attack.
Local NGOs are planning a press release about the incident, which is
not immediately available. More photos below:

From: Baghdasarian

EurasiaNet.org, NY
May 8 2012

Two Elections and One Inauguration: What’s in It for Armenia

May 8, 2012 – 1:01pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze

Within almost one day, France elected a new president, Russia
installed its old one and Armenia essentially kept its old parliament.
All three events have significant implications for Armenia’s future.

Back in Yerevan, Armenia’s political opposition is finding it hard to
digest the news that it will remain an opposition and one with a
modest presence in the new parliament, according to early election
results. Whether or not the election’s top-two finalists — President
Serzh Sargsyan’s Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous
Armenia Party — will revive their governing coalition remains open to
speculation, but is not a question likely to keep anyone up late.

But while Armenia faces a prospect of more of the same in its
political kitchen, there has been a change on the foreign policy
front.

On May 6, France laid off President Nicolas Sarkozy, a self-styled
friend of the Armenians and a longtime Turkey-skeptic. President
Sargsyan enjoyed good vibes with Sarkozy, and the latter played the
Armenian card heavily in the final year of his presidency.

In France, Sarkozy backed a law that criminalized denying that the
Ottoman Empire’s World-War-I-era slaughter of ethnic Armenians in
Turkey was genocide. He went barn-storming across the Caucasus, where
he struck the pose of a supporter of the Armenian cause and the savior
of Georgia during its 2008 war with Russia. But wagging a finger at
Turkey and wooing the Diaspora Armenian vote did not help Sarkzoy
secure a second term.

After a year of bickering with France, Turkey was quick to reach out
to Sarkozy’s successor, President-Elect François Hollande, for a fresh
start. While Hollande also backed the genocide law, there are signs
that he might try to wipe the slate clean with Turkey.

Yerevan has little to worry about with another ally, Russia, where
former Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry
Medvedev now have switched jobs. Whichever was on top as Russian
president, Putin and Medvedev both maintained a close diplomatic and
economic partnership with Armenia, where Russian troops serve as a key
deterrent against enemy Azerbaijan.

Putin, who once described as a done deal Peter the Great’s advice that
Armenians should be embraced and pampered, is unlikely to rethink
things now.

All other variables being constant, that means that, geographically
speaking, Armenian friendship will continue to work vertically (Russia
to the north and Iran to the south), and enmity horizontally (Turkey
to the west and Azerbaijan to the east) for the foreseeable future.

From: Baghdasarian

Waterloo Region Record, Ont. Canada
May 7, 2012 Monday
First Edition

New park honours Galt airman killed in 1944

by Kevin Swayze

Irene Peters smiles as she looks around the busy little city park at
the south city limits.

Mothers are pushing babies in strollers. Kids are giggling on the swings.

Behind her, a sign has just arrived bearing the name of her brother,
who died in a Lancaster bomber over Germany in 1944 during the Second
World War. Paul Peters Park is a reality.

“Paul would have loved the idea,” Irene said, as workers unwrapped the
sign with his photo on it. “He wasn’t a mournful kind of fellow. He
would have loved to see all the kids playing in a park in his memory.”

Today at 2 p.m., family, friends and park neighbours are invited to
gather at 255 McNichol Dr. for a dedication ceremony.
“It will be a celebration,” Irene said.

Afterwards at City Hall, a small private reception is planned for
family, close friends and politicians.

The city takes applications to name city parks after local residents.

Sunday, for example, local sports organizer John Corbett was asked to
throw the first pitch at the first game of the first season at the new
baseball field bearing his name. Corbett Field is a regulation Peewee
Ball Diamond, for children 12 and younger. It’s in
Stirling Macgregor Park, in the area of St. Andrews Street and Grand
Ridge Drive.

At first, Irene wanted Paul’s name on a street sign. About 130 of the
city’s 1,100 streets have blood-red memorial poppies beside veteran’s
names on signs. The veterans’ memorial policy was championed 15 years
ago by the late Coun. Bill Struck, a Canadian airman in the Second
World War.

Trouble was, the name Peters was already used. Instead, Irene asked
for a park to carry her brother’s name.

The park is on about a hectare of land given to the city as part of
subdivision development south of Myers Road.

It cost about $50,000 to outfit it with playground equipment, trails
and a few benches, said Susan Reise, city landscape architect.
Irene talks of how her parents, Abraham and Lucy Bedrossian met and
married in Armenia. They brought their family to Canada in the 1930s,
in the middle of the Great Depression, to make a better life for their
children.

“When dad came to Canada, he found it difficult with that name. He had
it translated to Peters,” she said.

Irene was the youngest in the family. Oldest was Margaret, then Paul.
Then came McKay – but everyone called him “Mushy,” Irene said. They
grew up in a house on Glenmorris Street, attended St. Andrew’s public
and Galt Collegiate schools.
Irene was a child when her father died, just before the war started in 1939.

“I knew Paul better than I knew my dad,” she said.

“He loved anything that was fiery and dangerous . . . that’s why he
was in bombers,” she said. “He loved rough cars and motorcycles. He
bought one when he went over . . . that’s what he wanted desperately.”

Paul expected to be called up to the army when he turned 18, so he
enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force first, in 1942, lying about
his real age: 17.

A gunner in a Lancaster bomber, his plane was shot down Aug. 26, 1944.
He’s buried in a British military cemetery in Germany.
Irene remembers how Paul would send letters home to Margaret in
English. When Margaret translated and read them aloud, Irene listened
in.

Now, all Irene’s siblings are gone. Only memories remain.

“I’m the last. That’s why I’m doing this,” Irene said. “I just wanted
Paul’s name remembered and now I’ve got the park.”

From: Baghdasarian

Montebello Food Fair Set for this Weekend

asbarez
Monday, May 7th, 2012

Scene from last year’s food festival

MONTEBELLO – This year marks the 5th Annual Armenian Food Fair & Fest
(AFFF) at Holy Cross Cathedral. The fun takes place on the Cathedral
grounds, located at 900 West Lincoln Avenue in Montebello from noon to
10 p.m.

The festival is a `foodies’ delight featuring an amazing and eclectic
selection of delicious Armenian foods and desserts. Many traditional
AFFF favorites will be featured, such as: delicious Shish Kabob
dinners; Aunty Manig’s famous Piroshki’s; last year’s smash hits of
Hye Nachos and Hye Tacos; and much more! Feast on our new and exciting
menu items, created especially for your enjoyment.

Is your Sarma the best in town? Enter this year’s Hye Chef Competition
and we’ll be the judge. Call us now and register for a chance to win
First Prize… the deadline to enter is Friday, May 4.

Some of this year’s featured highlights include: an Arts & Crafts
arena where all ages can work with Mesrobian School Art Director,
Malvina Mkrian, to create lovely works of art from recycled materials;
a cooking demonstration by cookbook author Barbara Ghazarian `Queen of
Quince’; and a place to test your pitching, basketball, soccer and
football skills in our all new Sports Zone. Young people and adults
alike can enjoy some friendly competition in the backgammon, ping pong
and Wii tournaments.

As always, the Festival will include: professional dance performances
by the Alex Dance Group; Mayes Medadian’s acclaimed drum circle; and
live music by very talented and popular musical artists…the Hosharian
Brothers Band, Sako and the Element Band.

Organizers expressed their gratitude to the official Grand Sponsor,
Joe and Nevair Samuelian & Family of Nationwide Environmental
Services; Food Court Grand Sponsor, Zabel Iknadossian & Family of
European Lion-International Machinery; Beer and Wine Garden Grand
Sponsor, the Poochigian Family; Kids Zone Grand Sponsor, Harry and
Kimberly Bagramian, along with countless additional supporters.

Admission to the Armenian Food Fair & Fest is $2 for Adults and Free
for Kids (12 and under). Ample free parking will be available. For
more information, registration for competitions and tournaments,
schedule of performances, activities, and sponsorship information,
please visit the Festival website at: or call
(323) 314-1375.

Don’t forget to bring Mom…after all it is Mother’s Day Weekend!!

From: Baghdasarian

PRESIDENT GUL CONGRATULATES NEWLY ELECTED FRENCH PRESIDENT HOLLANDE

Anadolu Agency
May 7 2012
Turkey

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday congratulated Francois
Hollande for having been elected France’s new President on Sunday.

In a written message sent to Hollande, President Gul wished that
Hollande’s election would contribute to the development of bilateral
relations.

We expect the Hollande administration to take into consideration
Turkey’s sensitivities, Gul said in his message.

Turkish-French relations were seriously hurt when the previous French
administration blocked Turkey from negotiating certain chapters in its
EU process and the French Parliament had adopted a law criminalizing
the rejection of Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents
of 1915.

Hollande made a promise to the Armenian diaspora that he would bring
up the Armenian law at the Council of Europe if elected. The Council
of Europe previously rejected the Armenian law.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIA’S ELECTION: SARGSYAN SEES

The Economist

May 7 2012

YESTERDAY’S parliamentary election in Armenia yielded few surprises.

President Serzh Sargsyan’s Republican Party won, with 44% of the
vote, amid charges of fraud and vote-rigging that will be familiar
to Armenia-watchers.

Yet, unlike the presidential election in February 2008, after
which eight demonstrators were killed in clashes with security
forces, there was little violence yesterday. This is a measure of
progress in the poor and landlocked former Soviet republic. “Armenia
deserves recognition for its electoral reforms and its open and
peaceful campaign” said observers from the OSCE. But, they added,
“stakeholders” had too often failed to comply with electoral law,
and the election commission had “too often failed to enforce it.”

Most western observers agreed that ballot-stuffing and coercion was
scarce, compared to previous elections. And in a further sign of
progress, Armenia’s quarrelsome civil-society movement mobilised to
keep the elections clean. Their efforts paid off when local election
observers uncovered what has been dubbed the case of the disappearing
stamps. This emerged when hundreds of voters, including Vartan
Oskanian, a former foreign minister, complained that ink markings on
their passports designed to prevent multiple voting had disappeared
within minutes of being stamped. The story spread quickly online,
forcing the election commission to put out a statement.

Still, such apparent improvements must be set again opposition charges
that thousands of votes were bought. Incriminating footage was posted
on YouTube. “Bribery was much more prevalent than before,” a Western
diplomat confirmed.

The Prosperous Armenia party came second in the election, winning 30%
of the vote. Led by Gagik Tsarukyan, a controversial millionaire and
former arm-wrestling champion with a penchant for white suits and
pet lions, the party has supported the Republicans in an informal
coalition. But that help has come at the expense of the kinds of
reform that would trim the powers of Armenia’s oligarchs.

Poverty, unemployment, corruption and emigration continue to plague
Armenia, a small but fiercely proud nation of 3m people that has been
wracked by conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan. Yet after his party’s
success yesterday, most observers say that unless the opposition can
agree on a candidate Mr Sargsyan is likely to be re-elected to a third
presidential term. His predecessor, the thuggish Robert Kocharian,
is likely to continue to wield influence via Prosperous Armenia from
behind the scenes.

Mr Sargsyan, a former defence minister who oversaw the war successfully
prosecuted by Armenia against Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, has
stirred his own share of controversy. In late 2010 a Wikileaks cable
dating from 2008 appeared to suggest that he had authorised the sale
of weapons to Iran that were used against American soldiers in Iraq.

The revelation of this scandal made surprisingly few waves. And
Mr Sargsyan continues deftly to steer the middle ground between
strategic ties with Armenia’s chief mentor, Russia, and closer
partnership with the European Union and America. In 2008 Mr Sargsyan
took a big risk when he signed a set of protocols with Turkey, an
ancient foe, that foresaw the establishment of diplomatic ties and
the re-opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. In the event Turkey
shelved the agreement following a barrage of threats from its ally
Azerbaijan. Turkey maintains that its alliance with the Azeris is
rooted in common faith and culture; Azerbaijan’s vast energy wealth
may also have had something to do with it.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S PARTY LEADS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION – CEC
By Hasmik Lazarian and Margarita Antidze

EuroNews

May 7 2012

YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan’s Republican
Party is on course to win Sunday’s parliamentary election, the Central
Election Commission (CEC) said.

Its main partner in the previous coalition, the Prosperous Armenia
party led by wealthy businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, was set to finish
second, the CEC said on its website.

After counting results from more than 50 percent of the polling
stations, the CEC said the Republican Party had won 46.23 percent
and Prosperous Armenia 30.72 percent of the vote.

According to preliminary results, three more parties are likely to
win the 5 percent of votes needed to enter parliament in the former
Soviet republic.

The Armenian National Congress, an opposition coalition led by former
President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, might also cross the 7-percent threshold
set for blocs of parties to win seats.

Many voters and Armenian leaders had hoped the election would be a
landmark for democracy after voting irregularities marred the last
parliamentary election in 2007 and clashes killed 10 people after
the presidential vote in 2008.

More than 300 international observers from the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe monitored voting and will give
their initial verdict on Monday.

The exit poll showed after voting ended in the South Caucasus country
that Republican Party would keep its grip on power, with Prosperous
Armenia in second place.

There were no reports of violence, an encouraging sign for the nation
that wants stability to boost its economy, devastated by a war with
neighbouring Azerbaijan in the 1990s and then the 2008-2009 global
financial crisis.

The parties made social problems and economic issues the main issues of
an election campaign that was unusually active for Armenia, Russia’s
main ally in the South Caucasus.

There were no major differences in their economic programmes,
which call for more active development of domestic industry and
continuation of cooperation with Russia as well as international
financial organisations.

A blast at a campaign rally injured about 150 people on Friday,
briefly raising fears of violence, but emergency officials said it
was caused by gas-filled balloons exploding.

Armenia is nestled among mountains in a region that is emerging as
an important route for oil and gas exports from the Caspian Sea to
world markets, although it has no pipelines of its own.

Although a ceasefire was reached in 1994, its conflict with Azerbaijan
over the tiny Nagorno-Karabakh region remains unresolved and a threat
to stability.

Relations with another neighbour, Turkey, are also fraught because
Ankara does not recognise as genocide the killing of Armenians in
Ottoman Turkey during World War One.

From: Baghdasarian